CARIBEquity Virtual Innovators Hub
Following the success of the 2024 Summer and Fall Series, CARIBEquity is pleased to present its 2025 Spring Master Class Series “Virtual Platform of Innovators” which aims to strengthen and share knowledge within the Caribbean region. Three Master Class will be organised between March and April 2025:
- AI-Powered Business Growth: Using Generative AI for Startups & ESOs, Wednesday, March 12, 2025 – 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EST (Caribbean time)
- No-Code & Low-Code Platforms: Building Scalable Organizations & Products Without Developers , Wednesday, March 26, 2025 – 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EST. Speaker: Dr Christopher Clarke – University of Michigan – University of Guyana
- Cybersecurity for Startups & ESOs: Protecting Your Business in a Digital World, Wednesday, April 9, 2025 – 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EST.
OACPS plays key role in CARIBEquity Facility to boost regional private sector Innovation
The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), through its Department of Structural Economic Transformation and Trade (SETT), has played a crucial role in designing and supporting the CARIBEquity Facility, a new initiative aimed at fostering innovation and economic growth in the Caribbean region. The program recently concluded its call for proposals under its Innovation Ecosystem Challenge Fund on July 26th, marking a significant step towards enhancing the Caribbean’s private sector development.
Implemented by IDB Lab and co-financed by the European Union (EU) and the IDB Group , the CARIBEquity Facility represents a collaborative effort between the OACPS Secretariat, European Commission (EC) and the Caribbean Regional European Union Delegation (EUD) based in Barbados. The collaboration is a clear example of how the EU is implementing its Global Gateway in the Caribbean. Whilst the OACPS is actively supporting the facility’s main objective to consolidate a Caribbean investment ecosystem for inclusive private sector innovation.
The facility targets a diverse range of entities including accelerators, incubators, academic institutions, and impact hubs, that support business innovation throughout the CARICOM region and the Dominican Republic. The call for proposals, which ran from May 31st to July 26th, is now in the evaluation phase, with successful applicants to be selected in the coming weeks. In the meantime, a series of virtual events named “Building Blocks for Ecosystems Actors” will be hosted every other Tuesday until August 27, 2024. To enhance the understanding of how the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Caribbean is evolving, the CARIBEquity Facility will launch a founder survey.
Inspired by the successful Boost Africa program launched in 2019, CARIBEquity is described as “a blended finance facility to consolidate a Caribbean investment ecosystem for inclusive private sector innovation, enabling early-stage and growth-oriented SMEs to innovate, thrive, and create jobs.”
This initiative underscores the OACPS’s commitment to fostering economic resilience and innovation in the Caribbean, potentially opening new avenues for job creation and sustainable development in the region. As the selection process unfolds, stakeholders are eagerly anticipating the impact this program will have on the Caribbean’s entrepreneurial landscape.
The CARIBEquity Facility stands as a testament to international cooperation in supporting regional economic development, bringing together expertise and resources from multiple organizations to address the unique challenges and opportunities in the Caribbean’s private sector.