Local technology and software company Amber Connect Group says its services are in demand in several non-English-speaking countries but its ability to capitalise on the requests is being hampered by language barriers and other challenges.
In just four years of operation, Amber Connect Group has grown to operate in 23 countries including the United Kingdom, United States, South Africa, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, Dutch Antilles and Trinidad. The prospects for the future are even brighter given the demands for its services, which comprise user-friendly vehicle tracking systems, electronic payment and rewards services and the provision of other digitised and innovative electronic solutions.
The demand is said to be far and wide — from the Middle East to Europe. In fact, demand from those two continents has caused Amber Connect to consider increasing its reach into both markets.
Speaking at a recent Jamaica Observer Business Forum, Amber Connect Group Managing Director Micheal McNaughton said despite the language challenges, the company is adamant that it will expand to the territories where its services are in demand.
The company, he said, already has a presence in Africa, and will be further penetrating that market which is said to be the biggest market for Amber Connect outside of the Caribbean. The company is now in Turks and Caicos Islands, where it is constructing a COVID-19 monitoring and immigration system similar to the one built for Jamaica free of cost. The total cost for the Jamaican system was US$700,000.
Amber Connect Group chief executive officer and founder Dushyant Savadia argued that the Middle East and Europe are “highly concentrated areas that we need to be focusing on”. Noting that they are distinctly different from the other markets being served by the company, Savadia admitted that Amber Connect has not done much work in either the Middle East or Europe. Given that reality, he said the company's entrance strategy would need to be tweaked.
He praised the team for its performance that has resulted in the company entering 23 markets in just four years. And while he acknowledged that the novel coronavirus pandemic has slowed down progress, he was optimistic that the company would be able to more than double its market presence over the next five years. In fact, Savadia told Caribbean Business Report he is projecting that by 2025 Amber Connect will grow its market presence to 60 countries globally.
Meanwhile, Chief Commercial Officer Denise Williams is focusing on the company strengthening its product offering as it looks to expand overseas.
Williams said Amber Connect is also pushing to grow the business vertically, meaning marketing all the goods and services of the six subsidiary companies at the same time.