A few years ago, I began an ambitious mission of exploring ways to help reduce the numbers of talented tech graduates that leave Guyana each and every year.
I worked with many of these graduates for over a decade while teaching Computer Science at the University of Guyana, and was convinced that though Guyana possesses an amazing abundance of raw talent for IT, it is troubled by an alarming absence of outlets and opportunities to help engage this talent.
With the slow growth of the local IT sector and limited local opportunities available for IT graduates, it was clear to me that targeted Nearshore outsourcing was the answer not only to create engaging outlets for Guyana‘s hungry, young talent but to also introduce the much-needed revenue to grow the local tech ecosystem and sustain our mission for the future.
Read more: Niche AI Startup and Ambitious Founder Aim to Reverse Brain Drain in Guyana
I eventually left academia, got to work and founded V75 Inc., a conversational AI tech startup, as well as Nexus Hub Inc., a non-profit, tech and innovation center, both headquartered in Guyana. With two fruitful Nearshore engagements and IDB Lab support, in three years V75 Inc. has created opportunities for over 40 individuals comprising full-time employees, apprentices and interns while our non-profit has trained hundreds, both at the foundational and industry levels.
We are still growing and learning, and we are thankful for platforms like Nearshore Americas’ Nexus 2022 that stand to accelerate the pace of our journey.
Five Things I Hope to Gain, Learn and Share at Nexus 2022
At this year’s conference, we look forward to learning from others who have walked this leg of the path and exploring future prospects for further growth. Through this, I am particularly looking forward to enhancing Guyana’s national competitiveness around niche tech deliveries like conversational AI.
Further, as a company, we’ve largely remained modest in our efforts to report on achievements and progressively grow a well-known identity for our brand, even nationally. We have come to understand and appreciate the importance of engagement and networking for growth. I believe Nexus 2022 provides the ideal platform through which V75 Inc. would be able to make our much-needed shift towards the prominence that our work deserves.
I hope to bring an awareness to the wealth of raw human potential that exists in Guyana; around its natively English-speaking population, its time zone adjacency with North America, its gifted youth and its ripe economic prospects as a young oil-producing nation.
I hope to learn from more experienced players in the industry, the state of the globalized playing field and the models they have employed for agility and sustained growth.
Finally, I hope to make friends, share my story of impact and purpose and listen to the many inspiring stories of others.
Nexus 2022, here I come!
