Bridgetown, Barbados – 9th August 2023 – The Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) is pleased to announce that it will join the Advisory Group for Carib$ to further explore the development of Carib$ to facilitate financial transactions amongst businesses in CARICOM states. CTU and Abed Ventures 2 have signed an MOU on 4th August 2023, defining details of their relationship.
Carib$ is a complementary currency enabling the direct and near instantaneous cross-border settlement of payments between companies doing business in different Caribbean territories. The Advisory Board for Carib$ will support the implementation process of Carib$ and It will consist of a group of public and private Caribbean entities all with mandates to foster the economic development of the region. Abed Ventures 2, a Barbados-based Fintech company, is setting up the necessary legal, technical and operational infrastructure to issue Carib$.
Speaking on joining the Advisory Group, Secretary-General Rodney Taylor stated, “We are excited to support the implementation process of Carib$ as the region needs innovative fintech solutions to meet the growing digitisation of financial transactions. Importantly, the Carib$, once successfully implemented, will foster regional trade and thus contribute to the economic development of the region.” He continued, “We have already successfully cooperated with Abed Ventures 2 on two webinars on digital currencies and are looking forward to deepening our relationship”.
On this occasion, Dr. Jan Schröder, Chief System Architect at Abed Ventures 2, emphasised: “We are very excited about having CTU on our Advisory Group. CTU’s in-depth expertise in the field of digital innovation and its wide network of Caribbean stakeholders will be of great value for us in taking the implementation of Carib$ forward”.
The CTU is a multi-stakeholder, inter-governmental CARICOM ICT organisation, which works collaboratively with governments, specialised governmental agencies, the private sector and civil society. The organisation provides enlightened leadership in the formulation of regional policy, capacity building, promoting ICT for national and regional economic and social development, coordinating regional ICT projects and representation of the region at international ICT fora.
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