Kirk Anthony Hamilton

COF 72: Shifting The Image of the Caribbean to a Business Destination with Kirk-Anthony Hamilton

Most persons see the Caribbean as just a tourism destination. There’s also this widespread view of it being a poor region that’s lacking in basic infrastructure. However, that’s not the case, and Kirk-Anthony has been dispelling that myth. Kirk-Anthony Hamilton is an architectural designer turned entrepreneur and investor from Kingston, Jamaica. He is the CEO of the Infiniti Partnership, a company connecting opportunities to a dynamic network of people, capital and markets.

“On May 11, 2015 Kirk-Anthony was 1 of 75 Emerging Global Entrepreneurs from around the world selected to be
honored by President Barack Obama at an event hosted at the White House as part of the President’s Global
Entrepreneurship Initiative.” In January of 2016 Kirk-Anthony was selected as 1 of 50 members of the Global
Shapers Community to take part in the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Kirk-Anthony has built a few platforms designed to attract innovation, influence, wealth, and media to the Caribbean to drive investment, partnership and mentorship. He is on a mission to shift the image of the region as a business destination. He has designed two platforms, The Destination Experience and Tech Beach Retreat, for elevating the best organizations within the Caribbean region, highlighting the opportunities for disruption, and bringing the global business ecosystem to the table to form collaborative opportunities.

In this podcast, you’ll hear more about these two platforms and what they’ve accomplished since their start, the role the diaspora plays in helping entrepreneurs in the Caribbean, the industries that young people should be involved in, and more. You’ll hear his thoughts and views on how millennials are treated, the restrictions they face, and how best to overcome this problem to gain acceptance and have a better understanding of today’s society and ever-changing world. This promises to be a very informative interview, so tune in!

Topics Covered

[spp-timestamp time=”02:29″] What are The Destination Experience and Tech Beach Retreat set up to do? What’s been the outcome since starting these two platforms?

  • The Destination Experience is the flagship. It’s designed to attract global business leaders to the table to meet with local peers.
  • Tech Beach Retreat narrows down specifically to the tech industry. It attracts a group of high quality people from organizations such as Google, PayPal and Facebook. Local and regional startups are also involved.

[spp-timestamp time=”06:11″] What is your position on the role that the diaspora plays in helping entrepreneurs in the Caribbean or fostering the ecosystem growth from where it is now?

  • Tech Beach targets startups, and one of the key pillars is to be able to sift through and identify diaspora members who have managed to attain a certain level of success.
  • They are able to offer real access to a certain market and can as a gateway between the Caribbean and the market within which they reside (dual role).
  • The best move to make is to pull global resources into the region.
  • Be a true connector with the global marketplace for business.

[spp-timestamp time=”10:56″] What are some industries that you feel maybe young people should be more involved in? Why aren’t young people as involved in various industries?

  • Every single industry.
  • More young people should be allowed to engage at the highest level and place in various job positions that are leading the way for companies so that they can tap into the market of millennials.

[spp-timestamp time=”15:15″] What is the landscape like for things to groom young leaders?

  • The negative views about millennials need to change.
  • We live in a hyper-connected world. The level of efficiency that we’re operating in now is different from it was in the 90s.
  • We have to be accepting of the shift of how things have changed.

[spp-timestamp time=”27:30″] Are there any programs in place in the Caribbean to have leadership development in preparation for when those opportunities do come?

[spp-timestamp time=”33:17″] What should we look forward to with the Tech Beach even coming up in November and December? Where can they find more information about the events?

  • techbeach.net and email kirk@techbeach.net
  • A variety of leaders will be present and it offers the opportunity to connect with a wide array of leaders.
  • Centered around access, fun, exciting, and awesome place to meet entrepreneurs and innovators in the tech space

[spp-timestamp time=”39:16″] What is your last word to the audience and to the community of friends when it comes to looking at the region as an area ripe for innovation and for investments? What’s one main takeaway?

  • Economic prosperity is a real possibility.
  • The Caribbean is well poised for economic growth through a number of factors, such as geographical location.

Join the convo online using #cofpodcast

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Connect with Kirk-Anthony Hamilton and learn about upcoming event

techbeach.net and email kirk@techbeach.net

Enjoyed the show? Please remember to leave a rating and review on iTunes
 
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Kerry-Ann

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown is Founder & host of Carry On Friends one of the first podcasts dedicated to the Caribbean American Experience. She is leading the way for Caribbean Podcast as the founder of Breadfruit Media, the first Caribbean podcast production company; and founder of the Caribbean Podcast Directory a place to discover podcasts by people of Caribbean Heritage.