Timing is everything. On February 28, 2022, we celebrated the 15th anniversary of SiliconCaribe and also Kingston BETA, our pioneering and iconic technology event in the Caribbean. It’s kind of fitting that we just gave away the franchise. We relaunched Kingston BETA on May 4th, 2022 and I officially handed it over to Jermaine Henry, himself the recipient of many community benefits and the Kingston BETA event series.
Newly franchised.
Now exclusively awarded to Norus Technologies led by Jermaine Henry, it is poised to take community, connections and education to new levels, attendees can expect a succession of meetups, hackathons and bootcamps.
Kingston BETA did a lot in Jamaica, across the Caribbean and in the Diaspora. Take a look at our numbers below.
You can learn more about the Kingston BETA effect from the following presentation that I used to open the event with a short Story that described our journey and demonstrated our impact as we journeyed our mission. You can read it below.
It’s been 15 years since my then business partner Susan LeeQuee and I hosted the first Kingston Beta event for 90 Jamaican and Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurs like ourselves. He went on to launch over 300 events in 10 Caribbean and diaspora countries in the US, UK and Canada, directly inspiring and facilitating over 100,000 entrepreneurs. I finished year 11 on 28 June 2018 to take a break and assess things.
Always on Mission
When I took a year off, I returned to SiliconCaribe to launch a new number of media and events and do more about our mission:
To reinforce the people, ideas and businesses that drive the growth of the Caribbean Digital Economy and to educate and inspire the next generation of Caribbean entrepreneurs and innovators.
To change and reinforce the narrative about the Caribbean, which is Beyond the Beach that is Digitizing and Innovating in new ways.
To become the Caribbean’s #1 source of Startup and Tech News, Insights and Business Intelligence for Entrepreneurs, Executives, Creators and Investors.
I’m proud of the community and the tech movement that is Kingston Beta… the campaigns made by entrepreneurs, the collaborations made, the workshops, hackathons and co-production of events with global brands like SXSW and Black Tech Week; new tech talent hired, co-founders discovered partnerships and secured investments.
Will there be more franchises?
Yes. I’ll be making some announcements in the coming weeks. Also if you are interested in being part of our growing BETA network of SliconCaribe events, communities, connections and educational initiatives. Let’s talk now. Email [email protected].
