Kingston – October 1, 2016: Mobile entrepreneurs around the Caribbean can apply for places in the region’s premier pre-accelerator programme as of today.
According to an announcement by PitchIT Caribbean, applications are now open for entrepreneurs from 14 Caribbean countries to take part in an intense training course designed to take them from idea to reality. Participants will be guided in the process from clarification of their mobile app idea and testing the concept to learning how to model a startup business and test its feasibility.
Commenting on the opportunity, project manager Bianca Welds said, “last year, we had over 150 participants in our mobile startup training programme. We have taken feedback from that first round and improved our training offering. We are very excited to be launching an even more high-value programme to the region’s entrepreneurs.”
Throughout the process, emphasis will be placed on real-world business-building, identifying key elements such as target markets and customers. The six-week training will be supported by virtual training sessions and face-to-face practical coaching workshops, led by PitchIT Caribbean’s local mHubs in Barbados, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The pre-accelerator programme culminates with the PitchIT Caribbean Startup Challenge, scheduled for December in Trinidad and Tobago. Participants will have the opportunity to enter the challenge and compete against a field of the region’s top mobile application startups. The winners of the challenge move into the acceleration phase to help them develop their startup.
Applications for the training programme open today and close on October 14. Entrepreneurs are encouraged to sign up early to take advantage of this business 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.
