By Shivana Lal

Copyright trinidadexpress

Forty-five vendors from across the country will participate in the 35th edition of the Southex International Expo.

Previously held at Gulf City Mall in La Romaine, the expo made its debut yesterday at the La Reve Conference Centre in C3 Centre, where it will run until Sunday.

The event will culminate with a car and truck show on Saturday and Sunday.

Southex chief executive officer George Singh said the move to C3 has seen a 12% increase in vendor participation, and a 300% growth in the car and truck show.

Themed “Architects of Innovation—Powered by AI”, Singh said this year’s expo seeks to harness the technology of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

“We are all architects of innovation. It is what drives us. Every company and every person who has a business that is exhibiting here today is in some way an architect of innovation,” he said.

Speaking at the launch, Nigel Romano, senior partner of the Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute, said AI has emerged as the defining technology of the era.

“We stand at the crossroads of an unprecedented technological revolution that promises to reshape not only how we conduct business, but how we envision the future of our Caribbean region,” he said.

“The numbers tell a compelling story. The International Data Corporation predicts that AI investments will yield a global cumulative impact of US 22.3 trillion dollars by 2030, representing approximately 3.7% of global GDP,” he added.

The technology, he said, was not aimed at replacing human intelligence, but instead was focused on amplifying it.

Romano said through responsible AI, the benefits of enriched employee experiences, customer interaction, enhanced business processes and accelerated innovation were possible.

“AI presents unique opportunities to leap from traditional development…Trinidad and Tobago, alongside our Caricom partners, is well-positioned to harness AI potential. We have the educational foundation and institutional capacity to become a regional leader in AI adoption.”

Citing from his personal experiences as a business owner, Minister of Trade, Investment and Tourism Satyakama Maharaj said AI has the potential to affect every single thing.

He said through his own business, Sacha Cosmetics, he learned to harness the power of AI through e-commerce, learning to master algorithms and search engine optimisation.

“We kept moving along. We kept adapting,” he said.

He shared that following the Covid-19 pandemic, by embracing AI he was able to reduce operating costs by 30%.

“AI is the tip of the iceberg. It is the AI-stone age we are in right now. It is going to be transformative. It is going to affect how we live, how we do business, how we interact with others. We have all the opportunities in the world, where we can successfully leverage AI and become a major goal player,” he said.