BlueDIGITAL

Our challenge is that many Barbados and Eastern Caribbean Blue Economy MSMEs in key sectors such as fisheries, waste management and tourism have not fully adopted digital tools, resulting in an evident absence of digital transformation, digital literacy, and digitalization within the industry's value chains and among key stakeholders. This situation has become particularly problematic due to COVID-19, which has exacerbated digital divides and resulted in the disruption of physical, informal transactions in the Blue Economy. As such, the BlueDIGITAL pilot experiment will apply digital solutions to improve segments of the Blue Economy ecosystem for fisherfolk, government, tourism industry partners and the general public as consumers. It will do so primarily through a demo mobile application and connected website that integrates fish image recognition technology to gather essential data points for better government decision making, as well as an associated marketplace feature to improve fisherfolk sales, all while increasing public access to sustainable seafood and fish. This will be done through a four portal virtual ecosystem:    1)      BlueFish: Improved sales for fisherfolk,  Stakeholder - Fisherfolk: Measuring fisheries catch data, including species and size through image recognition technology and transitioning to basic digital business management for improved: Fisherfolk sales, Financial/digital/business literacy, Fisheries catch data (species, size, seasonality and quantity)   2)      BlueData: Better data-driven decision making,  Stakeholder - Government: Improved data collection for decision making and more sustainable fisheries management resulting in: Enhanced data collection of fish catch including species, quantity of fish caught, size and sustainability factors, Support to digitization of elements of the fisheries industry     3)       BlueSeal: Responsible and regenerative blue tourism solutions,  Stakeholder - Private Sector: Enhancing sustainable and responsible tourism operations by: Developing a nationally verified seal to recognize industry partners who implement sustainability into elements of their operations, Developing a marketplace feature and/or strategy for fisherfolk, Enhancing tourism sector-based access to local, sustainable fish and seafood products, Increasing awareness on and access to responsible and regenerative nature and conservation based tourism activities     4)      BlueLink: Supporting public access to sustainable seafood,  Stakeholder - Public / average consumer:  Virtual sustainable seafood guide available to the public: Enabling greater public access to sustainable seafood products through a direct-to-consumer offering.

In 2020, the UNDP Accelerator Lab for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean conducted stakeholder outreach consultations as a means of sensing, identifying and analyzing challenges and solutions in the Blue Economy. Through this work, one key trend emerged: COVID-19 acted as a catalyst for change among Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs), with many small-scale fisherfolk turning to tools such as WhatsApp to support their business practices. As such, the Accelerator Lab narrowed in on a proposed portfolio of mini, interconnected experiments focused on the digital transformation of MSMEs to bolster this weak signal in the interest of increased diversification of skills and opportunities. This was further supported by the UNDP Barbados and Eastern Caribbean Multi-Country Office’s (MCO) Economic Transformation pillar of the COVID – 19 Response Programme 1.0, as well as the COVID-19 2.0 programme on FUT - TOURISM, both of which emphasize digital transformation as one pathway towards resilience. In addition, this portfolio of digital solutions is in direct response to unearthed needs, trends and inputs gathered at the grassroots, policy, and private sector levels. This research was conducted prior to and following the onset of COVID-19, during which the value of the Blue Economy to the Eastern Caribbean was further realized. The range of opportunities and increasing potential of the Blue Economy as an approach to diversify the Eastern Caribbean economy while creating jobs, improving livelihoods, and promoting environmental sustainability is at the core of the UNDP “Blue Economy for Green Islands” approach. Through this system lens of integrated development methods, the Lab is also contributing to the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) offer, which is rooted in climate action, the Blue Economy, and digital transformation. At a  global level, this concept aligns with UNDP’s digital strategy to harness potential for development based on digitization and digitalization approaches.  Moreover, as the Eastern Caribbean Blue Economy has been negatively impacted by COVID-19, new questions and more agile solutions to novel challenges are required. This includes addressing the closure of much of the tourism industry for various periods of time, which has resulted in reduced sales of fish and increased pressure on fragile waste management systems. Within the pandemic landscape, the informal sector has been one of the hardest hit, especially regarding loss of work.  As such, shaping the New Normal in the Blue Economy must place focus on vulnerable populations, including women whose livelihoods are particularly compromised due to physical distancing and decreased travel to the region, leading to unemployment in the female-dominated hospitality sector. Considering this and in support of Phase 2 of the MCO’s COVID-19 Response Programme, BlueDIGITAL will help Blue Economy MSMEs transition to new models, from economic recovery to expansion and beyond. 

The value add our Accelerator Lab brings to solving this challenge is primarily rooted in applying an innovation based approach to development that will allow us to test and pilot new, disruptive concepts and technologies such as traceability, digitalization and the gathering of novel data sources. Additionally, as our Accelerator Lab has consistently focused on the Blue Economy from the time of its formation, we possess knowledge, capacities and skills in the exploratory sectoral categories of fisheries, renewable energy, waste management and sustainable tourism. 

The BBD & EC Acc Lab is launching BlueDIGITAL, a digital pilot aiming to improve #blueeconomy value chains by creating a virtual ecosystem connecting fisherfolk, gov., tourism operators and the public in the interest of enhanced sales, catch data and sustainable fish/seafood.

How can digital tools support the pandemic recovery and resilience of Blue Economy MSMEs in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean? 

Human Centered Design: Each BlueDIGITAL portal will be designed around the unique needs of four key stakeholder end users.  Data Visualization: Barbados fisheries catch data recorded will be visualized, including on elements such as fish size, species and seasonality.  Pilots: The BlueDIGITAL experiment will be a pilot project in Barbados.   Minimum Viable Product (MVP): The BlueDIGITAL ecosystem will be created through a demo application and associated website.   Co-Creation: BlueDIGITAL will be co-created with various partners, including BARNUFO and MMABE. 

Data gap: We are filling the gap of digitalized data accessible to government on sustainable seafood and fish with specific focus on seasonality, species and size.    Value: Improving fisherfolk sales and digital/business literacy, as well as increased tourism sector access to sustainable fish and seafood. 

University of the West Indies (UWI), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Welcome Stamp Barbados,   Barbados Tourism and Marketing Inc (BTMI),   The Coral Reef Restoration Alliance (CORALL).