We are currently undergoing drastic changes around the world, old industries are getting replaced by new and innovative ones. Currently, the Caribbean is severely underdeveloped from a point of key technological infrastructure, human capital, and funding capital in order to carry out projects.
Despite the challenges, there are opportunities that can be found in key industries that are experiencing a lot of change.
If you can tap into these industries with a product/service and control a key part of one of these markets, it can prove to be rewarding. Some of these markets are easier to get into than others due to barriers to entry such as research and development, startup capital, team, etc.
Below you can see a list of industries that if you have the right idea and execution, you can reap millions if not billions.
Cyber Security
Cyber security is becoming a growing problem in the Caribbean. If you should read the news weekly, you will notice that at least one major company is being hacked. Often times it would be a bank or some other organization where client information is sensitive.
Additionally, the Caribbean is severely underdeveloped from a cybersecurity standpoint, the talent is not equally dispersed across the islands and Latin America.
We have seen companies such as Beryllium Limited, who are doing some interesting work in this field although it’s not at a certain scale as yet. Cyber security is a fast-growing field and a lot of money is to be made for an entrepreneur who has the know-how to carry out a plan.
I am positive that businesses who have sensitive financial, health, and retail data wouldn’t want a data breach and that’s where having a business within this space can excel.
You can start some service-based business or if you have a skilled team, you can develop software that can help to provide analysis, spot vulnerabilities, and provide ways to solve. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what is possible.
Agriculture
Agriculture is a very old industry and it’s not very sexy. Whenever we hear about farming, we might think about dirty boots, shovels, machetes, plowing machines, etc.
Despite all of that mental imagery, there are a lot of opportunities there, recently I saw a company installing sensors on farms to analyze different data points which might prove to be important for the farmer going forward.
Information such as the weather, humidity, soil type, crop growth, and many other data points that when combined in one system can help a farmer to detect changes in their fields so they can be able to predict ahead of time whether to plant a certain level of a crop this season or any other season based on the data.
A couple of years ago, I saw drones being used in Jamaica to spot to do something similar although not quite as detailed but interesting nonetheless.
You also have vertical farms where instead of growing crops on a field horizontally, we can do that vertically in a large infrastructure. The entire point is a lot of innovation is needed and if you have the resources available you can provide a lot of value.
Internet Of Things
The Internet of Things is a growing industry where opportunities are endless. We are currently living in a world that is getting more connected. For example, let’s look at a simple outside camera, I have seen homes where a camera can detect an intruder and trigger off a signal to the individual miles away.
I have seen applications where you can connect to your stove, fridge, etc. This can allow you to automate certain tasks such as turning on a stove and start heating a pot automatically.
This idea can spread across various fields such as health care and even farming. Automatic crop sprinkler that is based on intensive data collection to know what time the crops might need water. Security cameras to spot intruders and trigger some signal to law enforcement who can spot the exact location through their application.
Health care is also an important sector where a senior individual who can’t really help himself can be assisted through an internet of things technology, automatically close and open the door, heat something in the oven, etc.
I could also see a lot of opportunities in the manufacturing sector which is severely underdeveloped.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is another field that is in the very early stages. Despite that we are in the very early stages, the impact is there. For example, look at your smartphones where you use an image of yourself to unlock a phone screen, sometimes it could be your fingerprint.
Banks are using it to detect fraud and automate certain tasks that would’ve been capital intensive in the past. The overall value behind artificial intelligence is predictions. Being able to make predictions and have digital expert advisors that can analyze data and give you valuable insights.
I have instances where machines now can spot diseases by looking at a CT scan and various medical imagery better than any human. A human is only needed to guide the process and make the final verification.
It’s a very powerful technology and it will only get more powerful as time goes on. The potential in this market is huge and if you can develop some sort of application to solve a key problem in a market, you can be golden.
Alternative Energy
Alternative energy is a very underdeveloped field in the Caribbean of all places that experience sunshine throughout the year. It is obvious that such as field requires capital and knowledge of the field.
Even Tesla which is worth billions today, wouldn’t survive through most of its history without government subsidies which I think is still going on today.
If you have the knowledge to create an energy product or service that will drastically help us to reduce our electricity bills for example you will be wealthy.
It wouldn’t be an easy undertaking though given the monopolistic nature of certain energy companies within the Caribbean, despite the challenges, companies are trying just that.
Look at Wigton Windfarm Limited (WIG) for example who focuses mainly on windmills, they are currently showing us that it is possible to have our own grassroots alternative energy company although it requires immense levels of capital to make it work.
It’s not just about solar or wind, you can also focus on battery technology which I think is huge and worth billions if you get it right. Elon Musk would be literally begging you to strike a deal.
Fintech
Fintech is still underdeveloped, even though I have seen progress among banks, it’s still not there yet and feels old and archaic. I have seen various applications trying to make a mark in this space and they will get it right at one point in time.
But there hasn’t been that societal shift needed to see huge changes in fintech. That’s where the opportunities are, in those little gaps in the market and sometimes large gaps that are not being served by any major bank.
Fintech is gaining a lot of steam in Latin America with billions invested to revamp that part of the world. There are a lot of opportunities within this field such as digital banks, payment processing, open banking, etc.
It can be a difficult field to get into due to regulations and wire tapes of all sorts but it can be worthwhile if you know exactly what you are doing.
I have seen governments now adopting local digital currencies which is a good step in the right direction and that little friction should be enough for other entrepreneurs to step in and capitalize.
Well, guys there you have it, there are many other industries where I could’ve talked about such as in the entertainment space, education, and others but these above I think will suffice for now.
good article. thanks for informations