About

The Caribbean Innovation Competition (CIC) is an international support programme and business start-up accelerator for entrepreneurs in the Caribbean. Organized by the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT), in collaboration with REACH* regional and national partners, the CIC helps transform intellectual ideas into profitable business models through the commercialization of Intellectual Entrepreneurial Assets (IEAs). The CIC will connect entrepreneurs with mentor, additional resources and online training throughout the process.

The CIC, is part of the  of the  Talent and Innovation Competition of the Americas -TIC Americas, the most recognized Hemispheric  Competition for Young Entrepreneurs in the Americas. The CIC and TIC Americas  go beyond traditional competitions as they incorporate training and mentoring as a “before” stage and follow-up, investment linkages and promotion opportunities as a “after” stage.

The First Edition of the CIC 2012 -2013 was originally developed as part of the Youth-IN program sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and implemented by the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT).

*REACH, the Caribbean Regional Entrepreneurial Asset Commercialization Hub, is an IDB funded regional technical cooperation project being executed by the University of the West Indies. REACH is aimed at building the commercialization capabilities of competitively selected Caribbean entrepreneurs and firms. The project will provide institutional capacity building, training, and mentorship in three main thematic areas: (i) technology commercialization (ii) creative industries intellectual asset management and (iii) product branding value capturing.

REACH, includes the following partners: YABT, The University of the West Indies (UWI), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Compete Caribbean (CC).