Caribbean Startup Blog written by Ingrid Riley

SiliconCaribe TV:MusicPassNetwork.com - iTunes for Reggae Music, well sorta

June 17, 2009

MusicPassNetwork.com is a site where you go to download the reggae singles you bought using the equivalent of a top up phone card. We first got the preview of this online music product at Kingston Beta on April 28th by its lead pitchman Lloyd Laing. MusicPass.com the reggae music card and MusicPassNetwork.com are products from Riddim Jamaica a Kingston-based company that’s also spawned the Reggae News Agency. Watch Lloyd tell you in 3 mins what is MusicPass, MusicPass Network and why it’s important for the Reggae music and Caribbean music industries. He talks about the cost, when it will be launched and what they are doing now.
Then have a look at what the card looks like: (more…)

SiliconCaribe TV: Cliq - the mobile app from Jamaica’s Software Architects

June 2, 2009


This SiliconCaribe TV video blog is an exclusive prelaunch demo. It’s about a Jamaican startup called Software Architects that has built a mobile phone app that works with even the most basic phone on the market and does things like this:
- allows you to top up on your prepaid minutes from you chosen mobile service provider -LIME, Digicel and send some to a friend too
-allows you to transfer funds between bank accounts
-allows you to pay your bills.
and more to come.
We caught up with them at the entrance of the Digicel Electronics Show weeks go. They were not exhibitors just curious attendees like ourselves. We’ll have more on this Jamaican startup led by CEO Damion Daley pretty soon.

SiliconCaribeTV: Pileojobs startup founder explains his Caribbean job search engine

May 28, 2009


PileoJobs.com pitch is what you missed at the last Kingston Beta, you may have missed the post I wrote days after it launched calling this Caribbean job search engine, a simple solution to a real problem. They now have added a social type of site pileojobs.net. Listen to the startup entrepreneur and founder Bill Bailey explain it in his own words.

Related posts
CARIBBEANJOBS.COM NUMBER ONE JOB SITE?

SiliconCaribe TV: The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur in Jamaica

May 10, 2009


Episode 1 - The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur in Jamaica
Check out our interview with Mike Michalowicz, multi-millionaire entrepreneur, best selling author of ‘The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur’ and in demand public speaker. Some of the questions I asked him were:
- His take on the status of entrepreneurship in Jamaica ?
- What are the top two takeaways from this book for Caribbean readers ?
- Why the world needs Caribbean entrepreneurs?
SiliconCaribeTV…are video blogs from SiliconCaribe.com. Like the blog we’re covering what Caribbean people and Caribbean companies are doing online and with technology. Lots more to come.

Pileojobs.com - All Caribbean jobs on one site…

pileojobs-400x222I discovered pileojobs.com on Twitter this week. It’s a simple solution to a real problem. There are now over 20 Caribbean job sites and really who has time to go to all of them? Pileojobs.com solves this problem…as they said one search gives you access to hundreds of jobs. They launched in beta this week. Pileojobs.com is the Caribbean’s job search engine and can you believe it, the creator Bill Baily built it using wordpress.

Free Press Release Submission Websites for the Caribbean

press-release1-285x300I’m in the middle of creating an online publicity campaign for a client and found three free Caribbean-focused press release submission websites - caribpr.com which was the first PR wire of the Caribbean which is based in New York, caribbeanpressreleases.com which is out of Barbados and then we have Jamaica-based jamaicapressrelease.com and a sweet list of 50 free press release submission websites.

Now not all press release submission websites are created equal. Most tends to simply allow you to upload the text and make your release available to the readers who come to the site. Other sites are what I call fully loaded- meaning you can submit a press release with live links back to a desired website; they allow photos,videos and audio; their site has rss feeds; is syndicated to mainstream journalists; has relationships with a network of influential bloggers;is regularly picked up by major search engines such as Google and Yahoo and more; and some are targeted to specific industries such as technology or business or travel. So it means seeking to find what matches your online publicity needs.

Oodge.com - Your Caribbean and African Restaurant Guide

March 23, 2009

oodgeSo while I was minding everyone’s business on Facebook as usual, I saw this group with a weird name and it had to do with food and Caribbean Food at that. So on further investigation and a few emails later, I got to the bottom of it all. Here’s the email interview I did with this startup called Oodge.

SC: When did you launch oodge.com

Oodge was launched in July 2008

SC: How did you come up with the name oodge.com? 
Oodge means “the Food”, “the Gastronomy” in a Bantu Language from Central Africa. (more…)

Jamenus.com - Jamaica’s Virtual Food Court Launches

February 3, 2009

 Jamenus.com is a Jamaican startup that offers consumers the option of ordering their favourite food online islandwide and from the convenience of home and office. We spoke to the CEO and co-founder Oraine Godfrey to give us some more details.
SC: When did you launch jamenus.com?
OG:
 JAMENUS had its soft launch on Sunday January 11 2009. The soft launch is the BETA version of JAMENUS. The full launch of JAMENUS is set for March 1,2009.

SC: Explain the service that jamenus.com offers to both consumers and the restaurants you are serving?
OG:
 JAMENUS is an online network of restaurants that offers consumers the ability to view various restaurant menu’s available to them based on their location and then order live from that restaurant online. The BETA version allows consumers to view but not order. Restaurants on the other hand enjoy a great marketing and sales analysis tool with their own web-based administration. They also enjoy the fact that this system limits order confusion over the phone as JAMENUS breaks down orders to last detail with three levels of order confirmation. Overall, JAMENUS offers and easier way to order food of a greater variety. (more…)

IS4WE.com – A Dedicated Caribbean Search Engine launches

January 27, 2009

IS4WE.com “is a dedicated Caribbean search engine in every sense of the word.” Those were the emphatic words of Muhammad Ibrahim Abdullah, the Ceo of this new Caribbean web startup. So I said ok, cool, explain that to me and in fact answer a few other questions for me too, I think my readers would love to know more. What follows is a question and answer between Ibrahim and myself. I’m always excited by companies such as these, as it’s these minds and the ideas they spawn that’s will continue to fuel the growth and success of the Global Caribbean Web. (more…)

Making Money Online with Zazzle.com

January 23, 2009

Online entrepreneurs are always looking for additional revenue streams and affiliate programs have always been a popular option but I feel that another source is seriously overlooked - sites like Zazzle.com (similar to CafePress but way better in my opinion).
Selling merchandise works for a number of different online ventures and for people seeking out new revenue streams. Zazzle features official merchandise from musicians such as Britney Spears, The Who and Maroon 5 yet basically nothing from Caribbean musicians. (more…)