CEF 2026 in Review: Webgold at the Tech & Digital Engine Room
The inaugural Caribbean Economic Forum met in Bridgetown on 18 and 19 June. Webgold took part as a Premier Partner, and its Chief Executive Officer spoke on Day 2.
The Caribbean Economic Forum 2026 (CEF 2026) took place on 18 and 19 June 2026 at the Hilton Barbados Resort in Bridgetown. It was the forum’s first edition, and Webgold took part as a Premier Partner. On Day 2, Stephan De Roche, Webgold’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, spoke at the Tech & Digital Engine Room, the forum’s session on technology and the digital economy.
The forum in numbers
CEF’s own announcement summed up the two days: “Collective representation of over US$24 trillion in institutional assets, lending capacity, and balance sheet strength. Two days. One mission: to position the Caribbean as a unified, investment-ready market—and to prove it by putting the region’s pipeline in front of the institutions with the balance sheets to fund it.”
By the forum’s published figures, it also brought together:
- more than 150 leaders and investors
- 52 speakers
- a pipeline of more than 25 projects, valued at over US$25 billion
Webgold’s part
Our role began before the forum opened. At CEF’s request, our agency quickly rebuilt caribbeaneconomicforum.com during the lead-up to the event, to meet the new needs of the expanded forum concept. The new site went live on 5 June.
In the Tech & Digital Engine Room, our role was to make sure digital infrastructure and fintech were part of the conversation about where the region’s capital goes next.
Thanks
Webgold thanks the organisers of the Caribbean Economic Forum, ACERO CAPITAL as host, Invest Barbados, and Counselor Global Solutions for convening CEF 2026. It also thanks our fellow participants of the Tech & Digital Engine Room including the Moderator Ayesha Nicholls, and fellow speakers Juan Carlos López Gutiérrez (MD, Global Strategies & Tools; LATAM Director, EON Reality), Jeff Witherspoon (CEO, Eager to Move Fitness), Sheriff Bangura (CEO, Aplus Capabilities), and Lilly Dash (Tech Entrepreneur).
Details of the forum and future editions are at caribbeaneconomicforum.com.
