The Caribbean’s biggest tech-entrepreneurship competition and showcase was held on

June 3-4, 2016

Meet the winners!
- Network
- get mentorship
- Meet market players
- meet funders
- understand investor expectations
- get publicity

25

entrepreneurs will pitch

On June 3 - 4, 2016, twenty-five finalists from across CARICOM will have the opportunity to pitch their mobile app to a panel of judges and an audience of regional and global investors at the PitchIT Caribbean Challenge, at the Mobay Convention Centre in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

5 winners will each be awarded US$5000 and a place in one of the five PitchIT Caribbean incubators around the Caribbean. During their incubation they will receive mentorship and coaching from some of the world’s best business coaches, and trips to international conferences and competitions.

5

winners will be chosen

The Final 10!

Terms & conditions

The following is a summary of the terms and conditions for the PitchIT Caribbean Challenge June 2016. Please download the official rules (pdf) and read it through carefully before you enter.

  • The Competition is open to Contestants from Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.
  • Contestants must be part of a team of at least two members.
  • Contesting organizations may be profit, non-profit or academic with fewer than 10 employees. Public sector agencies/organizations may not compete.
  • There is no cost to make a submission.

Submissions will be judged on the following criteria:

  1. Problem, Customer Segments and Opportunity Size
  2. Proposed solution to the customers’ pain
  3. Revenue Streams Envisaged and Tested
  4. Analysis of the competitive landscape and positioning
  5. Customer and User Growth Strategy / Channels
  6. Team Composition and Commitment
  7. Market Traction and Secondary Achievements
  8. Projections for milestones and Key metrics
  9. Completeness and Overall Impressiveness

25 finalists will be selected to pitch at the PitchIT Caribbean Challenge in June 2016.

  • The 25 finalists, when selected, will be asked to submit a three minutes video which will become part of their company profile and be used for a people’s choice Facebook competition, the prize for which will be awarded at the PitchIT Caribbean Challenge.
  • Two members of the 25 finalist teams must be willing and available to travel to Jamaica for the period May 29 – June 4, 2016. Travel and accommodation costs will be provided by PitchIT Caribbean. Selected Finalists will also get the opportunity to be a part of a two day intense pre-challenge Bootcamp that will prepare them to win over leading world investors and close deals.

Benefits for finalists

If you are selected as one of the 25 finalists, apart from the opportunity to win the main prize, the PitchIT Caribbean Challenge will provide you with opportunities to:-

network

Benefit from being a part of a community of innovators who share experiences, knowledge and resources. Source talent and build collaborative efforts for the future.

get mentorship

Ramp up your skills and knowledge through the training, coaching and mentorship we will provide to the selected teams.

Meet Market players

Get connected to important players in your target market - large corporates, development organizations, government entities - who can help you to reach your intended customers. intended customers.

Meet funders

Pitch your MVP to startup funders and build relationships that may lead to your project being funded.

Understand investor expectations

Grow in your understanding of investor expectations and how you can present your concept in ways that are more attractive to them.

Get publicity

Take advantage of the publicity and media around the PitchIT Caribbean Challenge and bring your app into the limelight.

How to enter

1

Create an executive summary

You’ll need to explain your vision for what your app will do. Use our guide document to create your executive summary.

Download executive summary guide

2

Create an investor pitch deck

You’re going to need to create a pitch deck. Here’s a template we’ve created that will help you with that process.

Download pitch deck template

3

Complete the entry form

Fill out the entry form. You'll need to attach your executive summary and investor pitch deck.

Enter now

Checklist

Lightning talks are at 5:30 at CARIMAC Annex 2

Registration and Payment:
We'll have a registration facility at each of the tutorial locations.
9:00 - 10:00 am at Placement and Careers.
1:30 - 2:30 pm at CLR (department of computing)
1:30 - 2:30 pm at CARIMAC Annex 2

There's an App:
We have an app with information about the conference (powered by Guidebook)
It includes schedules and other event information
Grab a copy:
iOS  Android

Tutorials:
9:30 am - 12:30 pm - Introduction to Plone (Python based content management system) (David Bain)
Location: Placement and Careers UWI
It is widely accepted that Plone has the strongest security functionality of any open source CMS available today. Plone is inherently more secure than any PHP-based CMS, and this is well documented on numerous security-oriented web sites. We have limited space (12 slots) in the morning.

1:30 pm - 4:30 pm - Introduction to Python 3 (Lorena Mesa)
Location: CARIMAC Annex 2 UWI
Come learn all the goodness of Python 3 
Before you do anything else fill out the contact form to let us know that you're coming.

1:30 pm - 4:30 pm - Introduction to Big Data Analytics using Python and Apache Spark
(Kangwa Sambo) 
This tutorial is for more experienced programmers, you'll learn basic data science using Python in the context of big data and analytics.