CANTO, the leading trade association for the Caribbean ICT sector, marked a major milestone this July as it hosted its 40th Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in The Bahamas.
The landmark event drew over 800 delegates from 52 countries, including two Caribbean Prime Ministers, ten ICT Ministers, regional telecom executives, and top global regulators, reaffirming CANTO’s role as the region’s leading forum for policy dialogue, investment, and innovation.
Framed by the theme “Towards a Unified and Sustainable Caribbean Gigabit Society,” the conference spotlighted strategies to accelerate regional digital transformation, expand broadband access, strengthen regulatory collaboration, and future-proof Caribbean economies.
CANTO Secretary General Teresa Wankin described the 40th Conference as both a celebration of legacy and a catalyst for the future.
“This was not just a conference, it was a signal of intent,” Wankin said. “CANTO has been the conduit through which the region’s ICT sector comes together to shape policy, share innovation, and drive investment. CANTO 40 showed the Caribbean is ready to lead and ready to shape a gigabit society that empowers every island, business, and citizen.”
She noted that the presence of global and regional decision-makers, including the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, and the Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, underscored the strategic relevance of the Caribbean’s digital agenda.
“When our Ministers, regulators, operators and innovators sit side by side, it sends a clear message: Caribbean voices will shape Caribbean solutions,” Wankin said. “We are not passive adopters of technology, we are building systems, policies, and partnerships that reflect our unique realities.”
Wankin said the next phase of CANTO’s mission is to turn regional dialogue into regional delivery. “As we look ahead, our priority is action, harmonising policy, expanding infrastructure, investing in talent, and ensuring no Caribbean nation is left behind. The Caribbean must move from pilots to platforms, from projects to ecosystems.”
Delivering remarks at the opening ceremony, The Honourable Philip “Brave” Davis, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, urged Caribbean states to guard against digital dependency.
“Digital transformation must be about more than systems and speed. It must improve lives, create opportunity, and expand access to justice, education, and entrepreneurship,” Davis said, adding that “the tools may be global, but the solutions must be national.”
Grenada’s Prime Minister, The Honourable Dickon Mitchell, echoed similar sentiments and challenged the region’s telecom operators and digital service providers to deepen their role as nation-building partners. “Your success is tied to the prosperity of the societies you serve,” Mitchell said. “Governments cannot do this alone. We need a full and active private sector committed not just to service delivery, but to co-investment, policy shaping, and digital equity.”
He painted a vivid picture of what a digitally unified Caribbean could achieve by 2030 — from cross-border health systems and roaming-free connectivity to regional fintech startups scaling seamlessly across markets.
“A nurse in St Vincent accesses a Grenadian patient’s records. A Dominican fintech company launches in Jamaica. A student in Barbuda logs on after a hurricane via satellite broadband. These are not dreams. This is the Caribbean we must build,” he said. “Let us build a Caribbean where every citizen has the access, the tools, and the confidence to participate fully and securely in the digital age.”
As the curtains closed on CANTO’s 40th Conference, momentum now shifts to its 42nd Annual General Meeting, scheduled for February 1–3, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency, Trinidad and Tobago, under the theme “Elevate the Caribbean: From Connectivity to Global Competitiveness.”
“The work does not end here,” Wankin said. “CANTO’s mission is to ensure that our digital future is not something that happens to us, but something we shape, together.”
