Trinidad Bets on AI to Wean Itself Off Oil and Gas
Economy
Key Facts
—The event. Trinidad and Tobago hosts its eighth Tech Hub Islands Summit on June 30 and July 1, 2026, in Port of Spain, under the theme “IMPACT.”
—The pitch. The country’s main business chamber wants to turn the twin-island nation into a regional centre for higher-value technology services, including artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
—The backdrop. Trinidad’s economy still leans on oil and gas, but its fields are ageing and energy revenue is sliding, leaving the country short of foreign currency.
—The names. Speakers and sponsors include Google, Amazon Web Services, Shell, Citi, Massy and Digicel, with the conglomerate Massy as title sponsor.
—The provocation. The chamber’s chief executive argues that routine entry-level outsourcing jobs should be automated with AI rather than chased.
—Why it matters. It is a test of whether a small Caribbean petro-economy can build a second engine before the first one runs down.
Trinidad and Tobago has lived off oil and gas for a century, and now it is trying to imagine life after them: the country’s Trinidad tech hub ambitions take centre stage this week as business leaders gather to pitch the islands as a home for artificial intelligence and cybersecurity work.
The occasion is the eighth Tech Hub Islands Summit, held in Port of Spain on June 30 and July 1. The theme, “IMPACT,” is meant to mark a shift from talking about technology to actually deploying it.
The guest list signals the ambition. Google, Amazon Web Services, Shell, Citi and the local conglomerate Massy, which is the title sponsor, are all on the programme.
Why the Trinidad tech hub idea matters now
For most of its modern history, Trinidad has been an energy economy. Oil and, later, natural gas paid the bills, funded the state and earned the foreign currency the islands needed to buy what they did not make.
That engine is sputtering. The country’s gas fields are running low, energy revenue is falling, and dollars have grown scarce enough to squeeze importers and businesses alike.
The strain is visible elsewhere too. The World Bank projects Trinidad and Tobago will grow about 0.7 percent in 2026, near the bottom of a sluggish region.
That is the pressure behind the conference talk. A country that has leaned on one industry is now hunting for a second, and technology is the bet on the table.
Higher value, not just call centres
Trinidad already has a technology sector, but it is smaller than those of regional peers such as Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. The chamber leading the push wants to move past basic call-centre work toward services that pay more.
In an interview with Nearshore Americas, the chief executive of the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago made a striking case. He argued that routine, entry-level outsourcing jobs should be automated with artificial intelligence rather than fought for.
The logic is that the islands should compete on brains, not cheap labour. The country has a deep pool of accountants and lawyers, he noted, and global firms such as Scotiabank, EY and American Airlines have already set up shared-service centres there.
There is also a diaspora card to play. Senior figures at Google, AWS and IBM are Trinidadian by background, and part of the strategy is to draw that talent and its networks back toward home.
The chamber has also paired the conference with longer-term plans. It is preparing a programme with a United Nations agency and a local AI centre to help a first wave of companies write their own artificial-intelligence adoption plans over the coming year.
A familiar regional playbook
Trinidad would not be the first in the region to try this. Uruguay built a technology-export business worth well over a billion dollars a year by leaning on skills, stability and clean power, turning services into a genuine alternative to commodities.
The difference is the starting point. Uruguay diversified from a position of calm; Trinidad is trying to do it while its main earner declines and its public finances tighten.
As the title sponsor Massy framed it, companies no longer need to be the biggest to win, only the fastest to learn and the best at using data. That is a comforting message for a small economy, but turning it into jobs and exports is the hard part.
The investor read
For an investor, the summit is a signal rather than a deal. It says the private sector and parts of the government are serious about a technology pivot, with a minister for public administration and AI due to open the event.
The obstacles are real and were named openly by the organisers. A serious AI ambition needs reliable power, water, finance and customers, and a data-centre economy cannot be willed into being by branding alone.
The forward signal is simple to track. If the talent and the global firms in the room start placing real projects in Trinidad, the pivot is working; if not, the islands remain a petro-economy looking for its next act.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Trinidad tech hub plan?
It is a push, led by the country’s main business chamber, to make Trinidad and Tobago a regional centre for higher-value technology services such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, rather than only basic outsourcing.
Why is Trinidad diversifying now?
The country’s oil and gas fields are ageing and energy revenue is falling, leaving it short of foreign currency. The World Bank expects growth of only a fraction of a percent in 2026, adding urgency to the search for new industries.
Who is backing the summit?
The event is organised by the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago, with the conglomerate Massy as title sponsor and speakers from companies including Google, Amazon Web Services, Shell and Citi.
Can a small petro-economy succeed at this?
It is possible but hard. Uruguay built a large technology-export sector from a stable base, while Trinidad is attempting the shift as its main industry declines, so the outcome depends on talent, infrastructure and whether global firms place real work there.
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