Omar Sultan-Khan, CEO, T&T IFC
Welcome to the Trinidad & Tobago IFC’s (T&T IFC’s) Quarterly 27; an issue that marks the end of the 2020 calendar year as well as the first quarter of the 2020-2021 fiscal year for the T&T IFC.
The Company’s resilience and consistency in the last year facilitated the continuation of several strategic initiatives and public education activities in the quarter. This is especially important as we remain cognisant of our role within the wider plan of facilitating national development and achieving economic and social recovery.
In this quarter, we continued our targeted digital media outreach to both local and international audiences as we seek to position Trinidad and Tobago as a Financial Technology (FinTech)-enabled financial services hub. The feedback from these campaigns also provided much-needed insights into the changing demographics and concerns of potential investors and businesses during this unprecedented time.
We also maintained our domestic public education campaigns through our radio segments and webinar series. In early October, we wrapped up the FinTech Integration series with the webinar ‘An Enabling Regulatory Ecosystem for FinTech’. This webinar featured representatives from the local regulatory agencies as well as a representative from the Ministry of the Attorney General & Legal Affairs.
In late October, we began our Resourceful Allies series; the first webinar featured data analytics firm DIV Solutions and the second featured Directors of FinTechTT. Collectively, these webinars amassed over 1,200 views on social media and continue to be shared on various platforms.
During this quarter, we were pleased to see the launch of a regulation Innovation Hub in October 2020. The Hub will assist companies that need guidance on the regulatory requirements for proposed FinTech products or services. We remain committed to working with the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago and the local regulatory agencies.
We also partnered with CAF – Development Bank of Latin America to promote the CAF Financial Inclusion Lab. This project was designed to bring together the public and private sectors, investors, and entrepreneurs to promote business opportunities and to provide concrete FinTech solutions on financial inclusion. In this regard, we continue to diligently strengthen our current partnerships, while actively seeking new alliances and collaborations.
While no one knows what 2021 will bring, the T&T IFC remains focused on its goals. Our achievements and a glimpse into upcoming work are captured in our 2019-2020 Annual Report, which includes our audited financial statements for the period, that were received and approved at our Annual General Meeting held on January 8, 2021. Once again, we were able to host our AGM and produce our financial statements within the stipulated timelines for state agencies, demonstrating our ability to remain consistent and agile even in a period of uncertainty.
In the next three quarters of this fiscal year, I look forward to the opportunity to share our work and the developments within the Financial Services Sector.
I cannot end this message without commending the hardworking staff of the T&T IFC who continue to rise to the occasion with a level of professionalism and persistence that is truly admirable.
We at the T&T IFC remain hopeful, despite the challenges that may lie ahead and focused on delivering service excellence to our stakeholders and the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
T&T IFC – Your Resourceful Ally.