By S.Browne. Updated 2:24 p.m., Friday, June 12, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
Vincentians with ideas for solving real world problems through technology now have an opportunity to compete for US$70,000 in prizes and present their projects to investors through a new Caribbean focused artificial intelligence (AI) initiative.
Future Caribbean, a venture discovery and acceleration platform focused on open source Agentic AI companies, has launched a global buildathon that will bring together 40 selected teams from across the Caribbean and around the world to develop AI powered solutions over a 21 day period.
Applications are open until July 3, 2026, with selected teams to be announced on July 17.
According to the organisers, participants will build open source Agentic AI systems, which are designed to perform tasks and solve problems with limited human intervention, across 10 opportunity tracks drawn from key sectors of the Caribbean economy, including finance, tourism, healthcare, food systems, climate resilience, transportation, real estate, the arts and the blue economy.
The selected teams will receive access to NVIDIA H200 class graphics processing unit (GPU) computing resources provided by Highrise AI and Impala AI, along with technical support, mentorship and guidance from a network of regional and international advisors, judges and industry experts.
Founder of Future Caribbean and co-founder of Athletes, Conservationists, Technologists, Artists and Innovators (ACTAI) Advisors, Lily Dash, said the initiative was created from the belief that the Caribbean should play an active role in shaping emerging technologies.
“Future Caribbean started from a conviction: the Caribbean is one of the world’s great opportunity regions,” Dash said in a statement.
“If you have an idea, if you have been building, this is your moment. The Caribbean should not watch this transformation happen, it should help shape it.”
The programme was developed in collaboration with IDB Invest, the private sector arm of the Inter American Development Bank Group, ACTAI Advisors and ACTAI Global, and was formally launched during IDB Invest Sustainability Week 2026 in Barbados.
Principal Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Officer and Head of Stakeholder Engagement at IDB Invest, Leonardo Mazzei, said the initiative creates opportunities for entrepreneurs, technology leaders, investors and development partners to work together to move ideas from concept to deployment and scale.
Future Caribbean has also assembled a judging and advisory panel that includes representatives from organisations involved in artificial intelligence, venture capital, economic development, cloud infrastructure, healthcare, disaster resilience and entrepreneurship.
The panel includes individuals affiliated with organisations such as IDB Invest, the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Bank, Intel AI Cloud, Export Barbados, DMZ, a startup incubator at Toronto Metropolitan University, the University of the West Indies (UWI) and Cayman Enterprise City, among others.
Teams selected for the buildathon will compete for a prize package valued at US$70,000, including a US$50,000 cash prize pool and US$20,000 in AI deployment machines provided by Other World Computing (OWC).
Additional benefits include access to a Caribbean Investor Showcase, places in the Cayman Enterprise City Accelerator Programme, a DMZ Soft Landing North American Market Entry Scholarship for one winner and an investor pitch day hosted at the New York Stock Exchange.
Travel expenses will also be covered for qualifying teams attending the New York showcase.
According to the organisers, participating teams will retain full ownership of any intellectual property created during the buildathon, with Future Caribbean claiming no ownership interest, equity or commercial rights in participant projects.
The 21 day builder sprint is scheduled to run from July 17 to August 7, with winners to be announced publicly on September 1. A Caribbean Investor Showcase and Investor Pitch Day at the New York Stock Exchange are planned for September.
Future Caribbean said selected teams that complete the programme may also have opportunities to remain connected to its partner network through follow-on programmes, regional deployment opportunities and potential pathways to incubation, advisory support, investment and commercial partnerships.
Applications can be submitted through Future Caribbean’s website.
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