"We need to embrace technology if we want to be competitive in the region," says Reynold Guerrier, President of the Haitian Association of Information Technology and Communication.

On May 29-June 2, the third edition of E2Tech, a conference and fair on Technology, Energy and Environment organized by AHTIC (Haitian Association of Information Technology and Communication) and Natcom, will take place in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

For the first time since its launch, E2Tech will last 5 days, and not 3 days as it customarily was. The agenda of the first two days includes the Conference and Sessions, and the last three days will be dedicated to product presentations by participating companies.

"We have a lot of surprises this year," says Mr. Guerrier, president of AHTIC, and businessman. Organizers set aside three days for product presentations because they believe it is very important for the attendees to learn about the new products and use them as new solutions for their companies.

During the product presentation sessions, the National Bank of Haiti will present its new check clearing service that reduces the amount of time necessary for checks to be cleared.

Another project to be presented is the "Back online" web platform that is meant to help students take their exams online. This new product also allows video surveillance during exams.

"The idea behind it is to show the Education Ministry that they can change, and bring a new part in the education system. It's not just a model, it can be a reality," states Guerrier.

"The Future is now"

E2Tech's slogan for this year is "The future is now". This is one of the reasons why this year's event will focus more on serving the younger generation of technology users. There will be separate presentations just for students and young people on how they can best use technology.

The goal is to raise awareness and make Haiti more competitive 

Mr. Guerrier considers that the only way that Haitian companies are going to become more competitive in the region is by embracing Technology.

"Technology is a way to take a leap forward to economic development. Today we are talking about regional competition. One of the goals is to see Haiti, in the region, as a competitive destination in terms of business. The only way we can do it is to use technology as the tool to be more competitive than DR, to be more competitive than Cuba, to be more competitive than any other country in the region. We have a population with a lot of illiterate people. The only thing we can try to fill the gap with is to bring and use technology for e-learning, for e-governance for example. It's the only way we can do that; otherwise, it will take us too long to catch up with other countries in the region."

One of the main challenges that prevent a faster development of the IT sector is Haiti’s insufficient Energy resources. This issue impacts IT and other sectors in Haiti dramatically.

"In any Technology project you need to set aside 30-40% of your budget for energy because we have a lot of blackouts every day. To produce something, people need to produce their own energy" says Reynold Guerrier.

The importance of technological development, the need to solve the energy issue, and the care for already vulnerable environment made the organizers cover the three sectors under one roof.

"We decided 5 years ago to have this fair and combine the three topics and have people thinking more about their environment and thinking about consuming energy in a rational way," noted Mr. Guerrier.

The organizers expect an increased attendance for this year: 7000 to 10,000 people, mainly professionals, students, company representatives from Haiti and abroad. E2Tech takes place every two years and is in its third edition.

The event will take place May 29 thru June 2 at Karibe Convention Center in Juvenat, Petion-Ville.