Government and Amazon launch 50,000 scholarship program for AI and cloud computing

The Vice President of Amazon Web Services (AWS) for Latin America, Paula Bellizia, announced in the presence of the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, 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 by 2028.

The announcement was made during the inauguration of the seventh edition of HUB Cámara Santo Domingo 2026, a setting in which Bellizia highlighted the coordination achieved between AWS and the Dominican government to drive the country’s technological transformation.

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 highlighted that talent preparation will be decisive in strengthening the competitiveness, productivity, and innovation of the Dominican Republic, while also valuing the coordination between the participating institutions to expand the population’s access to specialized training.

Free training to meet the demand for digital talent

All Dominicans over 18 years of age may participate in the program, especially students, professionals, entrepreneurs, startups, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

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 Train Dominican Republic brings together Amazon Web Services, the Santo Domingo Chamber of Commerce, 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 is for 50,000 people to be trained 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 thousand Dominicans together with the Government of the Dominican Republic,” affirmed Bellizia.

Artificial intelligence is already transforming businesses

During her keynote speech, the AWS Vice President for Latin America explained that artificial intelligence is no longer a future projection, but has become a tool that is already transforming the way organizations operate.

“AI, artificial intelligence, is not the future, it is already here. It is already a reality, even here in the Dominican Republic,” the executive maintained.

Bellizia cited data evidencing the rapid adoption of these technologies. He explained that 76% of companies in Central America and the Caribbean use generative artificial intelligence chatbots and digital assistants, while 13% already employ AI agents in strategic areas with allocated budgets.

Likewise, it indicated that 26% of organizations in Latin America report generating economic value from artificial intelligence, which demonstrates the impact that this technology is beginning to have on business productivity and competitiveness.

Dominican companies are already taking advantage of technology

During his 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 through previous methods.

He also highlighted Grupo Ramos’ technological transformation process, as an example of how Dominican companies are incorporating new tools to respond to market changes.

The executive maintained that these cases demonstrate that technological transformation requires organizations to embrace change and adapt both their processes and their corporate culture.

A partnership to prepare the country for the digital economy

The launch of AWS Entrena Dominican Republic reinforces the strategy of articulation 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 will be able to apply in their jobs, entrepreneurship projects, and companies, while contributing to creating a workforce with greater capabilities to respond to the needs of an increasingly digitized economy.

The program is designed as a tool to bridge the talent gap, drive 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 featured the participation of the president of the Santo Domingo Chamber, 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.