The USAID Eastern and Southern Caribbean office yesterday announced the launch of the Water for All Pitch Competition, seeking entrepreneurs in the region to submit game-changing innovations that focus on the water sector.
A release from the US Embassy here said that the pitch competition aims to bring regional awareness and impel action to promote water sector resilience in the face of climate change and other hazards affecting the region. It will broaden the private sector’s role in water solutions by showcasing promising innovations and practices and to strategically connect them to advanced support systems that will ultimately support the scaling up of their innovations. This, the release said, would enable testing of ideas to identify what works and catalyze follow-on investments.
Entries must be submitted in English through the website: https://www.waterislife2023.com. Eligible entrepreneurs must have an existing innovation or prototype. Pitches must provide solutions for water resilience and sustainability, and ideas must be driven or amplified by technology. The pitch competition is open to eligible applicants in the following countries: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Up to five finalists will be shortlisted to participate in an in-person pitch in Barbados with a total of a USD$50,000 cash prize. The Grand Prize winner will win a USD$25,000 investment in their pitch. The first and second runners-up will win USD$15,000 and USD$5,000 investments, respectively. The other three finalists will receive non-financial support in the form of business development, market assessment, public relations and communications, technical expertise, and travel services in order to accelerate and facilitate continuing development of their pitches.
The Water for All Pitch competition will be open for applications through July 14, 2023. If the entrant experiences any difficulty with submitting an entry they can contact the ESC Resilience Team at mission-esc-resilience@usaid.gov.
