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Kingston – As of October 28, mobile entrepreneurs around the Caribbean can compete for a share of US$75,000 and be recognized as some of the top tech talent in the region.

 

PitchIT Caribbean has announced that applications are now open for entrepreneurs from 14 Caribbean countries to enter their international pitch competition. Participants who have recently developed ideas as well as those ventures that have begun to see some traction in the market are invited to compete for one of five prize packages, each valued at over US$15,000.

 

The PitchIT Caribbean Startup Challenge is scheduled for December in Trinidad and Tobago, where a field of 25 of the region’s top mobile application startups will have the opportunity to pitch to a panel of regional experts. The finalists will participate in an intensive two-day pre-challenge bootcamp facilitated by experienced coaches and investors, designed to help them fine-tune their pitches for the competition.

 

The winners of the challenge will then move into the PitchIT Caribbean’s acceleration phase, which will further develop their startup. Winners will also get access to an online networking platform, a place in one of 4 regional accelerators, hands-on mentoring and coaching, online training, international pitching opportunities and US$5,000 seed funding for business development. On top of this, they will also get professional advice on things like the self-funded health insurance pros and cons, how to market their new product, and what they can do to appeal to new investors. All of this will help grow their startup and keep employees health.

 

Commenting on the newest edition of the Challenge, Project manager Bianca Welds said, “last year, we had over 80 applicants to our Startup Challenge from all over the Caribbean. The feedback from our first competition in Montego Bay was very positive and those 25 startups have all seen fantastic growth since. We have been excited to see the milestones reached by our 5 winners and we are very excited to be launching this competition to further help the region’s entrepreneurs.”

 

Applications for the competition close on November 10. Entrepreneurs are encouraged to sign up early to take advantage of this tremendous development opportunity.

 

 

PitchIT Caribbean is a programme aimed at enhancing the mobile app development ecosystem across CARICOM. It is designed to accelerate mobile app entrepreneurs through the start-up life cycle, which runs from ideation to pitch,

from pitch to market and from market to maturity.

It currently supports 4 Hubs, one each in Barbados, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad & Tobago. PitchIT Caribbean is the central operation of the Caribbean Mobile Innovation Project, which is part of the Entrepreneurship Programme for Innovation in the Caribbean (EPIC), an initiative funded by the Government of Canada and executed by infoDev/World Bank Group, through a three-party Caribbean consortium, led by UWI Consulting Inc., working along with Mona School of Business and Management, and Mona Business Support Services.

 

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Contact: Bianca Welds, CMIP at bwelds@gmail.com
or Michael A. Grant, The World Bank at mgrant1@worldbank.org

 

Related Links:

http://pageonemagazine.com/pitchit-caribbean-challenge-set-for-montego-bay
http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/78190/pitchit-bringing-opportunities-developers
http://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/technology/dominicans-create-events-mobile-app/

http://www.loopjamaica.com/content/jamaican-start-ups-pitch-investor-conference-finland

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/career/UTECH-students-win-Caribbean-CODESprint_19040820

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Jamaican-techpreneurs-head-to-Slush-2015-in-Finland_19233816