Adrian Dunkley is Jamaica's top AI expert and one of the Caribbean's most distinguished figures at the intersection of finance, data science, and artificial intelligence. A trained physicist and AI scientist, he built a career at the very center of Caribbean finance, holding executive roles across investment banking, credit risk, regulatory compliance, and advanced analytics at Jamaica's most prestigious institutions.
From Compliance Analyst at CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank to Head of Risk and Compliance at the Development Bank of Jamaica, Risk Vice President at Mayberry Investments, Head of Analytics at NCB Financial Group, and Decision Sciences Head of Data at Barita Investments, Adrian accumulated a depth of real-world financial expertise that is unmatched in the region.
AI System That Helped Hundreds of Thousands of Jamaicans
While at Jamaica's largest commercial bank, Adrian designed and built an AI-powered intelligence system responsible for approving billions of dollars in unsecured loans to individuals and businesses across affected sectors, from Tourism to Transport, during one of the most challenging periods in Jamaica's economic history. These AI-driven loans significantly outperformed traditional lending portfolios in repayment performance. Hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans received critical financial support quickly, when they needed it most, proving that intelligent, data-driven credit decisions could be both inclusive and commercially sound.
Adrian's approach was grounded in a decade of original research into World Models, computational frameworks that allow AI systems to operate effectively under conditions of limited data and low financial literacy. In markets like Jamaica and the broader Caribbean, where traditional credit bureaus have thin files on millions of citizens, World Models provide a path to fair, accurate credit assessment that no Western scoring system can replicate. This research sits at the heart of Credit Garden's international credit scoring methodology.
In 2019, Adrian founded StarApple AI, the first AI company in the Caribbean. This landmark achievement established Jamaica as a serious player in global artificial intelligence and created a foundation for the region's emerging tech ecosystem. Since then, he has launched four AI Labs in Jamaica, including the IMPACT AI Lab in collaboration with the University of the West Indies and Section 9 AI Lab, embedding AI capability into both academia and industry.
As a regional leader in AI across the Caribbean and Latin America, Adrian has shaped national AI policy through Jamaica's National AI Task Force, contributed thought leadership as a Forbes Technology Council member, and mentored the next generation of AI practitioners globally as an IBM Global AI Mentor. His expertise spans not just Jamaica but extends to financial inclusion initiatives across Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guyana, and Latin American markets.
Credit Garden is the convergence of everything Adrian has built over 25+ years: the AI expertise, the financial intelligence, the World Model research, and the unshakeable belief that every Caribbean citizen deserves access to world-class credit intelligence. As he says, "Knowledge is Power. Know your Credit Strength."
