Narayan AmmachchiThe Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has reportedly agreed to lend Trinidad & Tobago US$20 million to build ICT infrastructure and promote IT-enabled global services.
Quoting Dr Bhoe Tewarie, the Minister of Planning and Development, Trinidad & Tobago’s Guardian newspaper revealed that the IDB approved the loan in order to help the dual-island nation grow into an ICT hub.
The Caribbean country, which is striving to lower is dependence on the oil and energy sector, is now talking of generating “thousands” of jobs in the outsourcing industry.
ZonaAmerica, which played a significant role in boosting Uruguay’s global services industry, has agreed to support the Caribbean country to design and set up a technology park.
According to the Guardian report, government has not yet decided where to buid the park, but officials will soon accompany ZonaAmerica to find the right location.
Once the infrastructure is set up, the country will announce support for companies interested in launching BPO services in legal processing, financial & accounting, informational technology and contact centers.
Analysts have often said that Trinidad & Tobago would be the ideal location for providing F&A outsourcing services, because the Caribbean country is home to about 2,000 chartered (CPA equivalent) accountants.
“We are well prepared with human capital and the flow of university graduates is steady. We are ranked 71 out of 148 countries in the Networked Readiness Index 2014 and of the World Economic Forum, we are ranked 37 out of 138 countries for the quality of our education,” Tewarie said in a press conference on Monday.
Low energy costs, a strong English-speaking population and tax incentives are some of the major advantages in the dual-island nation. The country has also reduced the time required to launch a business from 43 days to just three.
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