– Passionate web developer says old-fashioned thinking kills innovation

IT seemed to Anton Kwang that he had it all sorted out as to what career path he would pursue. Growing up, like the typical teenager, he wanted to study medicine. He went after his goals fervently and eventually found great success.
But what would cause the 33-year-old to make a drastic change in career paths? What could become so much more interesting to him that would make him switch things up to the point of abandoning a top position at a well-established local company?

Well, today, he said he has no regrets about his decision. In fact, his new job as a web- applications developer and consultant caught the attention of overseas professionals to the extent that he was featured in the prestigious Forbes Magazine.

Food Technologist vs. Web Developer
Having completed his studies in Chemistry at the University of Guyana in 2009, Anton had the goal of becoming a Food Technologist. After graduating with a BSc. in Chemistry, he worked for several years with Edward B. Beharry & Co. Limited where he was promoted to several top positions until he left last January.
“I was and still am really fascinated with food technology, and spent most of my professional career in that field and loved every bit of it,” he expressed during an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine.

However, during his time there, he became involved in implementing innovative solutions that fell within his job functions, one of which was designing and implementing digital systems to improve operational efficiency.
It was during this period that he really got into DATA and analytics in general, and with the encouragement and help of a good friend, began a little tech startup in 2017 called HESC Power Dash Analytics.

The main focus of that startup was to help empower organisations with paper-based systems to use digital solutions to manage their businesses. He also focused a lot on Oracle Technologies, particularly their APEX Development platform, which is his chief tool these days.
In a little over a year, Anton progressed and increased his knowledge in coding and began implementing systems with various clients, both in the public and private sectors.
In early 2020, he finally decided to resign as Factory Manager to go full time into applications development. The safe decision would’ve been to stay put in his employment, especially as it offered him stability and sure work, but he opted to take the harder decision to quit.

“I noticed that there was a real need for organisations to transition to digital solutions. And the more I worked for different clients, my passion and zeal grew for the field. I asked myself which position would help me have a more positive influence in society,” Anton recalled.
Now in a position to implement systems that are of national benefit, he feels fully satisfied that he can make a difference in helping others. “That’s where the satisfaction comes from — knowing that you’ve contributed to a project that could positively impact a lot of people.”

Finding Digital Solutions
Apart from his business clients, Anton and quite a few others in the tech environment have been volunteering their services to different organisations, including government ministries and agencies to help them make a shift from their archaic way of doing things.
While many are still hesitant to make changes, Anton is continuing to make an effort to infiltrate areas of society that can very well benefit from digitised systems. “The pandemic has forced us to rethink the way we do business; a lot of businesses were forced to find some sort of digital solution to the way they do business.

“It goes to show that there are solutions out there and Guyana in a sense is lagging in terms of keeping up with trending technology. People are so accustomed to doing things the old-fashioned way and with this type of thinking, it really kills innovation,” he said.

Anton says it bothers him to see people bypassing the local ‘tech’ companies to outsource their work with international companies. “But there is so much of raw talent and innovation and ingenuity among our own Guyanese.”
Explaining how he landed a space in Forbes Magazine, Anton said Oracle, a huge tech company, has a platform that he uses called APEX Development Platform and that’s the software that he uses to build his applications.

“They were doing a series of how people worldwide are using that software. Why they chose me was because of the impact that technology had on my career and that really got me excited about development,” he said.
Being a part of the global community, he was casually discussing what he has been using and the impact of the tech on him personally when someone told him about the series. “I didn’t study Computer Science. I had a Chemistry background. I was totally foreign to the field, so they reached out to me in hopes that others would be encouraged by it,” he explained.

Anton says his zeal and love for the field continues to grow. He has managed to make good friends along the way with persons who have the same vision of changing Guyana for the good, so far as innovative technology is concerned. Together, they represent the local unofficial Oracle APEX community.