Now in its third year, Tech Beach Retreat continues on its mission to elevate Caribbean technology to the world stage, with the ultimate goal being to facilitate greater deal flow to the region, as well as access to markets, capital, thought leadership, among other resources.

From tomorrow to Saturday, organisers of the conference will, along with their guests, explore the theme ‘Disruptive Innovation — Exploring the Technological Transformation of Industries’ at Iberostar Resort in Montego Bay. By doing so, curator and founder Kirk-Anthony Hamilton hopes this will stimulate conversations about the Caribbean’s culture of entrepreneurship and innovation.

“We are working to spark an entrepreneurship and innovation revolution in the Caribbean. We’re aiming to connect our regional business ecosystem and our governments with the shifts happening within the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” he said.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution was first mentioned at the 2016 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and is the fusion of technology with the physical, digital and biological spaces. Within the scope of theme, the conference will focus on the financial innovation revolution, changes in health care, as well as emerging technologies such as cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, robotics, and virtual reality.

Considering the unfathomable, rapid pace at which technology is changing, and with it the transformation of global business, Hamilton is not only advocating that the Caribbean “adapt to the changes underway”, but “as much as possible, it would be great if we can stay ahead of the curve and even influence some of the change”.

“We believe a more innovation-driven economy will yield more investment and new enterprise, resulting in economic prosperity,” Hamilton said.

In an e-mailed response to queries from the Jamaica Observer, the Tech Beach founder said technology is a great “equaliser” and a new-found source of wealth for the current generation, and so the conference will provide learning experiences that will upskill the workforce to compete in the new global economy.

To this end, workshops at the conference will be dubbed Tech Beach University, with teams from leading technology companies providing demonstrations on corporate-level innovation, blockchain development, and how to raise capital through cryptocurrencies.

In addition, Hamilton promises that the line-up of guest speakers will also add value to the conversation on technology and entrepreneurship.

“Our approach is pretty simple, but effective: Connect with leaders who are successfully navigating the ever-changing economic and social environment, and have them share their success journeys and failures in meaningful conversations with their local and global peers. Experience is the greatest teacher, and people love Tech Beach because the information is first-hand and not theoretical,” he said.

Having featured Twitter boss Jack Dorsey at last year’s instalment of the conference, the Business Observer asked how that experience can be improved upon.

“It’s not easy to top, Jack. After all we’re talking about one of the top three CEOs in tech and one of the top 10 in general,” Hamilton shared.

“We have a high repeat rate, and many of the companies that participate return year after year. This year we have representation from Airbnb, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Google, and a few more.”

As such, Tech Beach has curated an environment where local participants, including businesses, can be matched with the skill sets, capital and resources needed to upscale business. In fact, in 2017 over 60 per cent of participants reported doing business with other companies within six months of the conference, including those mentioned before.

Over 250 entrepreneurs, investors and innovators from North America, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean attended Tech Beach Retreat 2017.

Among the noted speakers for this year’s staging is Canadian entrepreneur Michele Romanow, co-founder of Buytopia.ca and SnapSave — the latter recently acquired by American company Groupon. Described as a serial entrepreneur, she is also featured on Canada’s Dragon’s Den, on which she listens to pitches of start-ups and competes to invest in them.

Another speaker at Tech Beach Retreat will be Bermuda’s Minister of National Security Wayne Caines. In addition to his portfolio of the various branches of security in the territory, he is also responsible for the Department of ICT Policy, Innovation, E-Commerce and FinTech. A trained lawyer and military man, Caines was previously CEO of Digicel Bermuda.

“We’re simply doing our part to ensure the region is connected in terms of resources, skill sets and capital, and also that we have a platform to showcase our own innovations to the world,” noted co-founder Kyle Malone in a release.

Tech Beach Retreat is supported by Jampro, Development Bank of Jamaica, Inter-American Development Bank, Jamaica Tourist Board, and Massy Technologies, among other partners.