Maverick of Technology, Dushyant Savadia
FOUNDER AND CEO AT AMBER GROUP AND AMBASSADOR / SPECIAL INVESTMENT ENVOY FOR TECHNOLOGY, GOVERNMENT OF JAMAICA
Photography by Yanik Foster.
Tech innovators are often dreaming up ways to make society better. Dushyant Savadia, Founder and CEO of global technology conglomerate Amber Group, is committed to these philanthropic ambitions. His vision for his work in Jamaica is to improve the quality of people’s lives.
Dushyant’s route to becoming a Jamaican technology disruptor is a unique story. It began with his arrival in Jamaica in 2012 as part of a humanitarian envoy for the Art of Living Foundation. A non-profit organisation committed to transforming lives through meditation and stress management. For three years, Dushyant taught workshops to everyone from farmers to corporate teams and inmates in prisons. In 2015, when the funding for the foundation started to dwindle, Amber Group was born to sustain his charitable enterprise.
The company’s first product, Amber Connect, took advantage of a gap in the security sector with one of the world’s most powerful AI-powered solutions for fleet management and consumer vehicle tracking. The application’s success, now in use in more than 30 countries, established Amber Group’s reputation for effective software solutions. In just eight years, Amber Group has developed another ten business lines unified by the objectives to make lives better and more straightforward for everyday people and businesses. The wide-ranging portfolio offers solutions in e-commerce, social impact crowdfunding and aviation. Looking ahead, the CEO predicts a need in the future for affordable domestic air travel and the need to level up recreational aviation experiences in the tourism market.
From its headquarters in Jamaica, Amber Group’s global reach is from offices in five countries across four continents. Dushyant is also keen to focus on education and infrastructure in Jamaica. “If we get these two things right, it will be a massive leap forward for the nation.” In collaboration with the Jamaican Government, the Amber Heart Coding Academy was founded to create a highly skilled workforce in Jamaica. “We want to export cutting-edge technology in Jamaica rather than just utilise it in the Caribbean landscape.” Nearly 500 students are being trained, and the first two cohorts have graduated with guaranteed jobs. The Academy has committed to funding 400,000 more students and is keen to expand the initiative into high schools in Jamaica.
The Indian-born Jamaican citizen remains deeply committed to development in the country. Dushyant is also appointed as Ambassador and Special Investment Envoy for Technology for the Government of Jamaica. “I am grateful for the trust and confidence the nation has bestowed upon me. As an ambassador, I will leverage my knowledge to attract investment and economic growth. We can harness innovation to address some of our society’s most pressing challenges.” Dushyant’s connection to Jamacia is deeply personal as well. “When I came to Jamaica in 2012, I was not in a very good space. This land healed me and brought life back into me. I am who I am because of Jamaica, and I’m eternally grateful to this land for what it has done to me, and I will pay my debt to this land in this lifetime.”
Interview by Tega Okiti.
