Clean energy entrepreneurs trained at boot camps

Some 163 clean energy entrepreneurs have been trained at three boot camps hosted by the Caribbean Climate Innovation Centre (CCIC).

The programme, which offers mentorship and guidance to entrepreneurs in the field of clean energy, is now inviting more companies to be a part of their upcoming boot camp in Antigua and Barbuda from September 27 to 29. The deadline for the applications is September 20.

Organisations that qualify for the programme must be involved in areas of energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, waste-water management, or resource-use efficiency.

To date, the boot camps have been held in various countries across the Caribbean, including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and St. Lucia.

As part of the programme, there are idea-generation sessions, where technical experts advise and guide entrepreneurs in finding the challenges that affect each country.

From there the entrepreneurs are guided in identifying business ideas from these challenges.

Winning ideas are selected from these boot camps, which automatically advance into the CCIC’s six-month accelerator programme, where the companies get access to funding and additional resources.

Interim Project Manager at the CCIC,  Marcia Henry, speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on September 6, said that the “objective for this programme is to have a pool of clean technology companies that are developing innovation for the Caribbean region”.

Winners from the programme also receive grants, with first place getting US$1,000; second place, US$500; and third place, US$250.

The boot camps are usually held over two and a half days.

Operations Officer at the World Bank, Karlene Francis, who also spoke at the ‘Think Tank’, said there are many opportunities for Jamaicans and the rest of the Caribbean “to utilise climate change to increase employment, economic development and sustainability”.

The boot camp is one of the many programmes that the CCIC employs to assist in promoting climate-change mitigation.

To register for the boot camps, persons may go to www.caribbeancic.org/bootcamp

The CCIC is a consortium under the Scientific Research Council (SRC) and the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) in Trinidad.