BIDC Business Catalyst 6 #3.indd 1 12/21/10 3:17:07 PM

CEO’s Desk
Making the
most of
ICTs
By Wilbur “Basil” Lavine
There is no question about it.
New information and communications technologies
(ICTs), in particular high-speed internet, are changing the way
companies do business. It is enhancing business processes,
transforming service delivery and facilitating communication and
networking in a way never before imagined.
ICTs offer significant opportunities to stimulate growth and
increase innovation in every local setting, thereby enabling
individuals and institutions to interact more productively within a
global economy. At the same time though, it must be recognised
that ICT alone does not generate or guarantee a country’s
development and economic advancement. In order to realize the
true potential of these technologies, a mix of sound government
policies, enhanced workforce skills, and infrastructure
investments must be applied to the equation.
Barbados recently unveiled a five-year National Information and
Communications Technology Strategic Plan. The objectives of
the Plan are to create an efficiently networked island and deliver
a wide range of information and services from both the public
and private sectors to all citizens. In addition, it is intended
“to create an environment that stimulates entrepreneurial
development and creativity, thereby widening the choice of
economic activity, increasing the rate of economic growth while
improving social services and deepening social cohesion and
interaction”.
The plan acknowledges the importance of each of the
aforementioned segments: government policy, human resources
and infrastructure investments, in driving the ICT development
process. And it outlines various goals and strategies in pursuit of
such.
Recognising that successful
execution of the plan will
require strong leadership at
the Government level, the
plan commits Government
to becoming a model user
of ICTs in the delivery of its
own services. It challenges
Government to creating secure, user-friendly e-government
and e-commerce frameworks that can themselves influence the
private sector to become more efficient and responsive.
On our part, we at the Barbados Investment and Development
Corporation (BIDC) have placed significant investments in
ICTs, digitising much of our administrative, operational and
information processing functions and creating an online presence
through which we can deliver information of interest to clients
and stakeholders. We certainly intend to keep pace with the
technological changes in line with organisational goals aimed at
enhancing operational efficiency and service delivery and would
wish to do so within the framework of e-government envisioned
within the National ICT Plan.
In line with our commitment to engaging ICTs, the BIDC would
also wish to encourage the business community, especially Small
and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), to commit to maximising
the benefits of ICTs. One of the major goals of the National
ICT Plan is infact to encourage SMEs to utilise ICTs to improve
competitiveness and productivity at all levels. This particular
goal really demands a second look at the motivating factors for
adopting and implementing these technologies.
A recent report exploring the question of how small businesses
in the developing world can optimize the returns on their
6 Barbados Business Catalyst • July - September 2010