Count only the artificial intelligence (AI) that is live, the laws that are in force and the results that are published, and the Caribbean scores 32 out of 100. The region is at the foundation stage of AI value and governance.
That is the headline of the inaugural Caribbean AI Value & Governance Index (CAVGI), which Dawgen Global publishes today. It covers 12 Caribbean markets and will be updated every quarter. It asks a practical question that boards, regulators and executives across the region now face: is AI creating measurable value, and is governance keeping pace?
The answer is not a verdict on ambition. The region is full of strategies, task forces and announcements. CAVGI measures something narrower and harder: how much of that can be evidenced today.
How CAVGI measures AI value and governance
CAVGI scores each market out of 100 on two equally weighted dimensions. Value (50 points) asks whether AI is deployed beyond pilots, delivering measurable outcomes and backed by skills and infrastructure. Governance (50 points) asks whether policy, institutions, data protection, cybersecurity, digital identity and assurance are developing alongside it.
The index is built entirely from public evidence, with a cut-off of 30 September 2026. Each of the 240 scores (20 sub-indicators for each of 12 markets) was coded against a written rule, with its source recorded. Four tests applied throughout:
- Live, not announced. An AI service counts only where a source confirms it is operating.
- In force, not enacted. A law counts fully only once commenced, with a regulator operating.
- Published, not claimed. Outcomes count only where figures have been published.
- Unverified means absent. What could not be confirmed was not credited.
A reviewer who had not done the coding then audited every score. We re-ran the scoring 5,000 times with random one-point changes, and the results held. The ranking also correlates closely (0.85) with the Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index 2025, an independent measure built a different way.
The ranking: three groups
Jamaica leads with 52, followed by the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago on 48. Only these three reach the Building stage (40 and above); the other nine remain at Foundation, and none is near the 70-point mark the index associates with AI at scale.
| Rank | Market | Overall (/100) | Value (/50) | Governance (/50) | Group |
| 1 | Jamaica | 52 | 24 | 28 | Leading |
| =2 | Dominican Republic | 48 | 21 | 27 | Leading |
| =2 | Trinidad and Tobago | 48 | 25 | 23 | Leading |
| 4 | Barbados | 39 | 19 | 20 | Following |
| 5 | Guyana | 37 | 19 | 18 | Following |
| 6 | The Bahamas | 33 | 15 | 18 | Following |
| 7 | Belize | 26 | 13 | 13 | Emerging |
| =8 | Antigua and Barbuda | 23 | 8 | 15 | Emerging |
| =8 | Saint Lucia | 23 | 10 | 13 | Emerging |
| 10 | St. Kitts and Nevis | 21 | 9 | 12 | Emerging |
| 11 | Grenada | 19 | 6 | 13 | Emerging |
| 12 | Suriname | 18 | 6 | 12 | Emerging |
The gaps between the three groups held in every stability test. The order within each group is less certain, so a few points’ difference between neighbours should not be over-read.
Five things the baseline tells us
- The region is at the foundation stage. The average is 32/100: 14.6 out of 50 on Value and 17.7 out of 50 on Governance.
- Announcements far outnumber live deployments. Industry data cited in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) report Caribbean Development Dynamics 2026 indicate that only 12% of Caribbean businesses use AI. We confirmed recurring, live AI services in only five markets, and published outcome figures in only three, all self-reported.
- Value Realisation is the weakest pillar. It averages 18% of its maximum, against 42% for skills and infrastructure. The region has foundations to build on, but little evidence yet of AI changing how work is done.
- Governance is usually ahead of value. Nine of 12 markets score higher on Governance than on Value. Only Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, where public-sector AI is most visible, show deployment running ahead of controls.
- Assurance is the thinnest layer of all. Ten markets show no AI-specific control or supervisory evidence. Only Barbados has AI-specific supervisory guidance in force, through its Central Bank. In five markets, data-protection laws on the books have not been confirmed as commenced.
What the leaders do differently
The leading markets show that live AI and functioning governance are achievable in a Caribbean context. Each leads in a different way.
- Jamaica (52) combines live AI with governance that works. Its Tourist Board runs an AI concierge, and Digicel’s Ruby AI agent, launched in Jamaica first, reports more than 535,000 customer conversations. Jamaica has completed an AI readiness assessment with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), set a November 2026 deadline for a draft National AI Policy, and has a data-protection law in force with an operating regulator.
- The Dominican Republic (48) has the region’s most developed formal architecture: a national AI strategy since 2023, the strongest cybersecurity and open-data programmes among the 12 markets, and an AI Centre of Excellence under construction.
- Trinidad and Tobago (48) has the strongest deployment record. ANANSI, its national AI assistant, answers questions for about 30 government agencies around the clock, and it is the only market with a dedicated AI ministry. Its data-protection, digital-identity and cyber foundations now need to catch up.
The following group has real strengths too. Barbados has excellent foundations, including the region’s only AI-specific financial supervisory guidance, but few AI services confirmed live. Guyana has more live AI than its policy profile suggests, in health imaging, investment promotion and its stock exchange. The Bahamas has committed to an AI Governance Act that has yet to be tabled.
What it means for your board
The gap CAVGI measures between countries exists inside organisations too. Licences purchased, pilots launched and staff trained are measures of activity, not value. Governance is not a brake on AI; it is how an organisation earns the confidence to scale it.
Five questions every Caribbean board should be able to answer:
- Where is AI already in use? Including tools embedded in vendor software and used informally by staff.
- What value is it creating? Which initiatives have measured outcomes, and who owns the benefits case?
- Who is accountable? Are decision rights, risk ownership and escalation for AI defined?
- Are our data and cyber controls ready? Do they extend to AI models, prompts, outputs and agents?
- Could we evidence it tomorrow? If a regulator or auditor asked, could we show how material AI systems are tested, monitored and governed?
What comes next
CAVGI is a quarterly benchmark. The next evidence cut-off is 31 December 2026, with the update published in January 2027. Weights and methods stay fixed through the index year, so movement will reflect real progress, not changing goalposts. Because the baseline is strict, every AI service that goes live, every law brought into force and every outcome published will register.
We invite governments, regulators and organisations with public evidence we may have missed to contact us at [email protected] for consideration in the next edition.
Download the full CAVGI 2026-Q3 Baseline Edition for the country scorecards, the methodology and all 240 sub-indicator scores. CAVGI_2026_Q3_Baseline_Publication_v2.pdf
To understand where your own organisation stands, Dawgen Global offers a Dawgen AI Transformation Diagnostic, which benchmarks your AI use, value, governance and controls against the CAVGI framework, and a 90-minute Executive AI Briefing for boards and leadership teams. Contact [email protected].
About CAVGI
The Caribbean AI Value & Governance Index is a Dawgen Global research benchmark built from publicly available evidence, covering Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Scores are structured research judgements under a published methodology. They are not official government ratings, investment ratings, audit conclusions, legal opinions or assurance opinions.
Dawgen Global is an independent, integrated multidisciplinary professional services firm serving clients across more than 15 Caribbean territories. Big Firm Capabilities. Caribbean Understanding.
About Dawgen Global
Dawgen Global is an independent, integrated multidisciplinary professional services firm headquartered at 47 Trinidad Terrace, New Kingston, Jamaica, serving more than 15 territories across the Caribbean. Founded and led by Dr. Dawkins Brown, Executive Chairman, the firm is independent and not affiliated with any international network. It delivers a full suite of professional services under one roof: audit and assurance; tax advisory; IT and digital transformation; risk management; cybersecurity; actuarial and insurance regulatory advisory; HR advisory; mergers and acquisitions; corporate recovery; business advisory and strategy; accounting BPO and virtual CFO services; and legal process outsourcing.
The proposition is simple: big-firm capability without the big-firm price. Dawgen Global’s integrated approach is built for the specific complexities and opportunities of the Caribbean market, helping organizations make sharper, better-informed decisions that drive measurable progress.
To explore a partnership, reach out:
- Website: dawgen.global
- Email: [email protected]
- WhatsApp (Global): +1 555-795-9071
- Caribbean offices: +1 876-665-5926 | +1 876-929-3670 | +1 876-926-5210
