Prime Minister Philip Davis’s Keynote Address at the 242 Influencers and Creative Conference

Friends,

Good afternoon.

When I look across this room, I see the outline of a new Bahamian economy. 

I see creators, storytellers, editors, marketers, comedians, entrepreneurs, and young people who took a phone, a camera, an idea, and their own voice and turned it into reach.

I have come here with a simple message. 

Your country sees you. 

Your government sees you. 

And your Prime Minister sees you.

If someone had told me, as a barefoot boy from Cat Island, that one day I would serve as Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, I would have struggled to believe it. 

If someone had told me that a young man who never went away to university, who learned the law through apprenticeship and articling, would one day carry this responsibility, I would have said, “That sounds almost impossible.”

Yet here I am.

I am here because somebody opened a gate for me. 

Somebody gave me a chance. 

Somebody saw ability before title, promise before polish, and work ethic before pedigree.

That is why I say to you today, I am a gate opener.

The Bahamas has lived too long with a gatekeeping culture. 

Too many people have treated access like private property. 

Too many gates stayed closed unless you knew the right people.

Too many talented Bahamians were left waiting outside rooms they had already earned the right to enter.

We have to break that culture.

We have to build a gate-opening culture in The Bahamas.

Friends,

There is something many young Bahamians know in their bones.

Too many older Bahamians have held younger Bahamians back because of their own fear, their own insecurity, and their own discomfort with seeing a new generation rise. 

Too many have mistaken mentorship for control. 

Too many have mistaken experience for ownership.

Too many have acted as though if a young Bahamian comes forward, somebody older must lose something.

That must stop.

A country cannot grow that way.

A people cannot move forward that way.

Age should bring wisdom, guidance, and room making. 

Age should bring a hand on your shoulder, a word of advice, an introduction, a recommendation, a gate opened.

It must never become a wall in the path of the next generation.

So yes, we need more gate openers. 

And we need them in politics, in business, in media, in church, in law, in education, in the civil service, and across every part of national life.

A country moves forward when gates open. 

A people rise when opportunity reaches farther than a small circle.

And a young person begins to dream bigger when they can finally see a gate opening in front of them.

That is why we have this event today. 

Today is me saying to you,

I am prepared to meet you in the middle. 

This government is prepared to create the domestic environment and give you the tools you need to succeed. 

We are prepared to do our part. 

All I ask is that you do yours.

Meet me in the middle.

Bring your discipline.

Bring your talent.

Bring your work ethic.

Bring your ideas.

Bring your hunger.

This government has invested in Upskill Bahamas because we believe Bahamians deserve access to training that fits this era. 

We are paying for Bahamians to build new skills.

We are helping people prepare for a changing economy. 

More than 12,000 Bahamians have already signed up for these free courses, fully paid for by the government. 

That is what meeting you in the middle looks like. 

We make the investment. 

We open the gate. 

We give you the tools. 

Then we ask you to step through and make the most of the chance before you.  

And I am especially pleased that some of our digital marketing graduates from the Upskill programme are here with us today.

When I hear about people like Delicia Rolle from Eleuthera, building her confidence in digital platforms and preparing herself for greater opportunities in marketing and communications, that tells me something. 

When I hear about Nia Strachan, a police officer thinking about launching her own business and using these skills to help others grow as well, that tells me something.

When I hear about Marcus Cooper in Grand Bahama looking at how digital marketing can strengthen his tourism business, that tells me something.

It tells me that once Bahamians get access to the tools, they move. 

They build. 

They imagine more for themselves.  

I want the all the students who got certified in Digital Marketing through Upskill to please stand up.

And I understand that we have Upskill graduates from Eleuthera and  Grand Bahama here! Where are you? Give us a wave!

And Coralee Ingraham from Cat Island – where are you? So nice to see you!

This is the country I believe in.

Meet me in the middle. That is all I am asking.

And I have seen the same thing through the National Youth Guard.

I have seen young Bahamians enter that programme and leave with discipline, training, confidence, and a greater sense of duty. 

I have seen young people who simply needed structure, belief, and a fair shot.

I have seen young Bahamians prove that once a country invests in them, they rise to meet that investment.

When a young man like Stefon Walkes can be recognised as most improved, when young cadets from across our country can complete serious training and come out better prepared to serve, that is a story about more than one programme. 

That is a story about what happens when a nation opens the gate and says to its young people, we trust you, we are investing in you, and we are prepared to place responsibility in your hands.  

That is why I believe so deeply in opening gates.

I have seen the talent with my own eyes.

I have seen Vocab and the way he can capture a whole audience and mock me as Prime Minister.

I have seen Zhane’o and his Brownie getting in trouble.

I have seen creators who understand timing, culture, editing, branding, and audience better than many traditional agencies.

I have seen Bahamian talent at work.

And I am here to tell you that what was missing was never ability.

What was missing was access.

What was missing was connection.

What was missing was a government prepared to knock on the door for you.

That is what we are doing now.

We are going to put you in the room and at the table.

This conference is built around exactly that idea, bringing global technology platforms, creative industry voices, and Bahamian creators together, with direct discussion about eligibility requirements and future opportunities for Caribbean creators. 

We are reaching out to companies such as OpenAI, Meta, TikTok, X, and others because we are making the case that talent and capability exist right here in The Bahamas. 

And let me say this plainly, there is no excuse to hide behind.

We are not going to tell Bahamian creators about some local barrier or some talk about Central Bank restrictions keeping them out of the room.

There are no local barriers. 

The work before us is to build the relationships, the access, and the systems that allow Bahamian creators to earn from their talent.  

Before we ask the global marketplace to monetize Bahamians, we have to do better at home.

Before we ask international brands to invest in Bahamian creators, local brands must lead as well.

That is why I am proud when I see local companies embracing Bahamian ambassadors. When Bamboo Shack works with Baha Yogi. 

When Dunkin uses Bahamian influencers.

Those choices send a message.

They say Bahamian talent carries value.

They say Bahamian influence has weight. 

They say Bahamian creators deserve real brand partnerships.

I want to see more of that across this country.

And government must play its part too.

So today I say this. 

I will direct government agencies and ministers to identify Bahamian influencers and creators who can help carry public information and public education messages, and to allocate intentional budgets for that purpose.

When government wants to reach people, government should use Bahamian talent.

When agencies want to speak to young people, families, communities, and consumers, they should look right here at home.

Because this is an era of Bahamian possibility.

This is a moment when we can decide what kind of culture we want to build. 

A culture where access is hoarded – or a culture where opportunity is shared. 

A culture where people sit on information and guard contacts – or a culture where people open doors and pull others through.

I know what kind of culture I want to build.

I want a country full of gate openers.

I want a country where one success story creates ten more.

I want a country where a young creator from Cat Island, Andros, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, Exuma, Abaco, Long Island, or New Providence feels that there is room for them too.

I want a country where creators can focus on creating, where brand relationships can grow, where platform eligibility gets serious attention, where best practice is shared, and where young Bahamians can build real income from their ideas.

So it is my hope that when you leave this conference today, you leave with more than inspiration.

I hope you leave with purpose.

I hope you leave with information you can apply to your talent.

I hope you leave with a wider sense of what is possible.

And I hope you leave as a gate opener.

Lift somebody up.

Share what you learned.

Pull somebody into the room.

Help somebody else understand the process.

Show somebody else where the opportunity is.

Because too much gatekeeping has frustrated the growth of others in this country.

We are going to change that.

I want to thank my Director of Communications, Latrae Rahming, Greg Michelier, Ambassador-at-Large with responsibility for Technology and Artificial Intelligence, and all the gate openers in this room for making this moment possible.

This conference is a signal.

It is a statement.

It is a beginning.

And I look forward to seeing you again next year, as Prime Minister, as we continue building on the progress we have made.

May God bless each of you, and may God continue to bless our Commonwealth of The Bahamas.