225 aspiring entrepreneurs to participate in CDB-funded programme

Two-hundred-twenty-five aspiring technology entrepreneurs will participate in an incubator programme designed to equip them with the skills to take their businesses to the next level. Following a recent call for applications, more than 200 regional entrepreneurs applied to be part of the Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurship Programme (CTEP) funded by the Caribbean Development Bank.

CTEP is a virtual incubator and accelerator programme focused on stimulating the creation and supporting the growth of technology entrepreneurship in CDB’s 19 Borrowing Member Countries. The programme will provide regionally relevant capacity-building workshops and critical mentorship support.

The first cohort will begin in January 2019 and the selected entrepreneurs will compete for cash and business support prizes. Fifty teams’ businesses are in the Ideation stage, 30 in the Validation stage and 10 in the scale-up phase. These teams will cover critical capacity areas over a 10-week virtual course under the tutelage of qualified mentors and facilitators.

“Supporting sustainable growth is one of CDB’s strategic objectives,” Coordinator of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development at CDB, Lisa Harding said. “This technology-focused incubator programme creates a platform for scores of entrepreneurs to develop the skills they need to advance their businesses, and to develop a range of innovative solutions for the market. They, in turn, can be better positioned to create further employment opportunities for others as they expand their companies, and indeed contribute to the digital transformation of the Region.”

CTEP is being executed and managed by Orbit Innovation, using an approach comprising:

• intensive applied learning activities designed to develop management skills and entrepreneurial capacities;

• appropriate theoretical contexts that immerses entrepreneurs into interactive business innovation scenarios, modules and discussions;

• relevant and entrepreneur specific practitioner and mentorship support; and

• web-based business toolkits and critical skills learning modules.