The 2013 VYBZING Animated Video Challenge Winners. (L-R) Darnell Lacan, Tevin Loctor, Dannal Casimar and Marlan Edward
Four hundred young men and women in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean will be equipped to participate in the global multi-billion dollar mobile application and animation industries.
The Caribbean Development Bank, along with partners, will fund training under the Caribbean Animation and Technology Capacity Building Program (Carib-AniTech).
CDB will jointly finance the two-year capacity building program, which builds on previous and ongoing work to promote the growth and development of the animation and mobile applications software development sectors in the region. This project will complement work currently being done on animation and mobile applications software development in Jamaica by enhancing outreach to include Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Carib-AniTech will build on the success of the Digital Jam; Girls Coding; and KingsTOON interventions in Jamaica, and will offer young entrepreneurs the opportunity to learn critical business skills, connect with angel investors, and benefit from a strategic network. It will also provide the animation industry with the trained animators it needs to qualify for international contracts.
CDB has allocated a grant of USD500,000 toward the program, while the government of Jamaica will provide JMD4.17mn, the World Bank USD400,000 and the private sector, USD80,000.
This capacity building program is designed to assist in improving the competitiveness of Barbados and member states of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector by leveraging existing support services in Jamaica. Carib-AniTech will provide opportunities for animators and mobile applications software developers to enhance their skills through regional and local capacity building activities, in addition to facilitating increased access to financing instruments to assist in growing their operations.
Read more at caribbeannewsnow.com
