SANTO DOMINGO.– Paula Bellizia, Vice President of Amazon Web Services (AWS) for Latin America, announced this Wednesday the launch of AWS Entrena República Dominicana, a program that includes 50,000 free scholarships to train an equal number of Dominicans in artificial intelligence and cloud computing before 2028.
The announcement was made in the presence of President Luis Abinader, during the inauguration of the seventh edition of the Santo Domingo Chamber Hub 2026, a setting in which Bellizia highlighted the collaboration achieved between AWS and the Dominican Government to promote the technological transformation of the country.
The executive considered the Dominican Republic an example of joint work between the public and private sectors to accelerate the adoption of new technologies and expand development opportunities.
Bellizia emphasized that talent development will be crucial to strengthening competitiveness, productivity, and innovation in the Dominican Republic, while also praising the coordination among participating institutions to expand access to specialized training for the population.
Training to meet the demand for digital talent
According to information from the Presidency of the Republic, all Dominicans over 18 years of age can participate in the program, especially students, professionals, entrepreneurs and startups, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises.
It highlights that the initiative will offer free online training in areas related to artificial intelligence and cloud computing, with the purpose of responding to the growing demand for digital skills and preparing more Dominicans for the opportunities generated by the digital economy.
AWS Entrena República Dominicana brings together Amazon Web Services, the Santo Domingo Chamber, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs (MICM), the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Administration, the Banco de Reservas, the Government Office of Information and Communication Technologies (Ogtic), Infotep and the National School of the Judiciary.
The goal
The goal is to train 50,000 people by 2028, as part of AWS's commitment to impact two million people in Latin America through technology training programs during that period.
“Our commitment is to train at least 50,000 Dominicans together with the Government of the Dominican Republic,” Bellizia stated.
Artificial intelligence is already transforming businesses
During her keynote address, the AWS Vice President for Latin America explained that artificial intelligence has ceased to be a future projection and has become a tool that is already transforming the way organizations operate.
“AI, artificial intelligence, is not the future, it’s already here. It’s already a reality, even here in the Dominican Republic,” the executive stated.
Bellizia cited data demonstrating the rapid adoption of these technologies. She explained that 76% of companies in Central America and the Caribbean use chatbots and generative artificial intelligence digital assistants, while 13% already employ AI agents in strategic areas with allocated budgets.
He also indicated that 26% of organizations in Latin America report generating economic value from artificial intelligence, demonstrating the impact this technology is beginning to have on business productivity and competitiveness.
Dominican companies are already taking advantage of technology
During her presentation, Bellizia presented examples of Dominican companies that are already using artificial intelligence and AWS technologies to transform their operations, improve processes, and increase their productivity.
Among the cases cited was Qik, which has incorporated technology to strengthen fraud detection and reduce transaction costs, as well as a company that managed to rewrite three million lines of code in one year, five times faster than using previous methods.
He also highlighted the technological transformation process of Grupo Ramos, as an example of how Dominican companies are incorporating new tools to respond to market changes.
The executive argued that these cases demonstrate that technological transformation requires organizations to embrace change and adapt both their processes and their corporate culture.
An alliance that prepares the country for the digital economy
The launch of AWS Entrena República Dominicana reinforces the strategy of collaboration between the State, the private sector and training institutions to expand opportunities for access to technological knowledge.
The initiative will allow thousands of Dominicans to develop skills that they can apply in their jobs, ventures and businesses, while also contributing to creating a workforce with greater capabilities to respond to the needs of an increasingly digitalized economy.
The program is envisioned as a tool to reduce the talent gap, boost innovation, improve productivity and strengthen the country's competitiveness, through free access to knowledge in two of the fastest growing areas within the global technological transformation.
The launch was attended by the president of the Santo Domingo Chamber of Commerce, Lucile Houellemont; the Minister of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs, Eduardo Sanz Lovatón; the Minister of Education, Luis Miguel De Camps García; the Minister of Public Administration, Sigmund Freund; the president of Banreservas, Leonardo Aguilera; the general director of Ogtic, Edgar Batista Carrasco; the general director of Infotep, Maira Morla;and the rector of ITLA, Jimmy Rosario.
