Victoria Mutual Investments has put into action its commitment to supporting the development of the Jamaican and Caribbean technology industries, through the sponsorship of Kingston Beta.

Kingston Beta, the 15-year-old award-winning Caribbean tech event series—which seeks to foster growth, collaboration, and innovation within the local and regional technology ecosystem—has two other events scheduled to be held in November and December.

The sponsorship saw the latest event in the series, a meet-up to bring together industry experts and those seeking to start a tech career, being hosted at VM Wealth’s New Kingston location last week under the theme ‘Breaking into Tech – How to launch your career in technology’.

Rezworth Burchenson, CEO of VMIL and VM Wealth Management Ltd, said the sponsorship reflects VMIL’s commitment to nation-building and aims to ensure Kingston Beta can continue to provide valuable resources and networking opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses in the region.

“This, in turn, helps to promote the growth of the Jamaican and Caribbean tech industries, which offers immense potential for businesses and investors. At VMIL, we believe that tech is the great equaliser. No matter your net worth, if you do tech well, you can create wealth. Through this partnership, we hope to accelerate the growth of many businesses that are coming to this space,” he said.

The Kingston Beta meetups, pitches, and workshops have helped many entrepreneurs get their start in the tech industry. The event series has also been a great networking opportunity for established businesses and startups alike, as the Jamaican and Caribbean tech industries experience bourgeoning growth.

The latest instalment of Kingston Beta facilitated a melting pot of tech and tech-adjacent talent, where the community of like-minded persons shared and developed emerging and cutting-edge ideas.

“It was clear that we’ve only just begun to tap into the local talent in tech, a fact that tech giants overseas have long recognised. Tech is more than just coding, it spans the gamut of industries, from psychology to quality assurance to medical technology, a fact that was clear from the diversity contained on the panel of speakers at the meet-up,” Burchenson said.

Jermaine Henry, CEO of Norus Technologies, said: “Our partnership with VM Investments is based on a mutual belief in the Jamaican entrepreneurial ecosystem and the potential that can be unlocked through building community. Many talented individuals in Jamaica are seeking local spaces that foster growth and collaboration. We believe the Kingston Beta community is one of those spaces”.

The event featured speakers sharing insight into the industry, including Kellz Bethel, founder of Recess; Brittany Stewart of Quality Works Consulting Group and Kymani Anderson, software developer at Norus Technologies.

Kingston Beta was founded in 2007 by Caribbean tech pioneer and entrepreneur Ingrid Riley and design entrepreneur Susan LeeQuee.

Since then, the series has become a recognisable tech community-focused brand having produced over 300 events. The 2022 curation of the Kingston Beta brand is being executed by Norus Technologies, a local software development company.