Background
Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) has for many years, recognised the critical importance of creating avenues for young people to become involved in water governance and management ventures. Development challenges in the Caribbean will ultimately be inherited by the region’s youth. Young people are providers of solutions and have ideas and energy to act for sustainable development. GWP-C therefore sees the importance of empowering young people to be agents of change in contributing to and advancing Caribbean water security.
Through GWP-C’s work and interaction with its youth Partners and young people within water and related sectors, they often do not have access to funding or resources to easily advance their project ideas. Additionally, they do not always have easy access to technical support to turn their ideas into fully workable projects. GWP-C therefore wishes to announce the launch of its 2020 “Young Caribbean Water Entrepreneurs Shark Tank Competition.” This is the second time the Shark Tank competition is being held, the first being last year in 2019.
In this year’s competition, GWP-C is pleased to be partnering with the Caribbean Climate Innovation Center (CCIC); an organisation committed to developing a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Caribbean, particularly through enabling entrepreneurs to solve climate-related challenges. CCIC is known for its tailored programmes in the region, which provide entrepreneurs with first-world business development training, business model development, mentorship, prototype development, networking and more.
The Young Caribbean Water Entrepreneurs Shark Tank Competition
GWP-C’s Young Caribbean Water Entrepreneurs Shark Tank Competition seeks to provide a unique opportunity for young persons from the Caribbean between the ages of 18 to 34 years, to pitch innovative and impactful water project ideas to support better water resources management in their community, country or the Caribbean region under the themes:
- Water and Climate
- Water and Agriculture
- Water and Health
- Water and Energy
- Water and Tourism
Participants will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas directly to investors (sharks) for a chance to secure seed funding of 4,000 Euros, to advance their innovative water-related project ideas. The competition’s sharks will include a mix of investors, such as GWP-C Partners, entrepreneurs, water and environmental specialists, innovation strategists, business development specialists, youth representatives, government officials and other representatives.
Everything You Need to Know!
Who should enter the “Young Caribbean Water Entrepreneurs Shark Tank Competition?”
Caribbean or Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nationals between the ages of 18 – 34 years with innovative water projects focused on advancing better water resources management in the Caribbean (community, national or regional level) under any of the following five (5) themes:
- Water and Climate
- Water and Agriculture
- Water and Health
- Water and Energy
- Water and Tourism
Entrants in the competition must be nationals of the following countries:
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands.
Entry Requirements and Competition Timeline
Phase 1: The Application
The competition will be launched on August 5th, 2020 and the application deadline is October 14th, 2020 at midnight Atlantic Standard Time (AST).
To enter, applicants must:
Complete and submit the competition’s online project proposal template here: https://forms.gle/RufZuRWpvNbXuTZP6 which includes the upload of a 2 - 3 minute pitch video (this can be filmed on a mobile phone) pitching to camera. Download our short video pitch guidelines here.
Important: You must sign into a Google Account to submit your online project proposal template and upload your 2 – 3 minute video pitch.
All applications (proposal and video pitch) must be in English. Entrants are to submit their project proposal and 2 – 3 minute video using the link above by Wednesday, October 14th, 2020 midnihgt AST.
Please note that a maximum of two (2) persons can apply together on a submission.
Phase 2: Review of Applications (Project Proposal and Video Pitch)
All submissions (project proposal and video pitch) will be reviewed by the competition’s first group of sharks. These sharks will be different from those in the final round of the competition. At least five (5) submissions (proposal and video) will be selected to advance to the final stage of the competition. Each of the finalists will receive feedback, critiques and advice on their submissions to prepare for their final pitch to the second group of sharks. Proposals and pitches in this phase of the competition will be assessed based on various areas (but not limited to):
- Innovation
- Water Resources Management Relevance
- Practicality of Implementation
- Projected Impact
- Financial Feasibility
- Project Sustainability
- Stakeholder Engagement and Partnerships
- Business/Industry Analysis
- Market Research
- Competitive Analysis
Phase 3 (Final Stage): The Pitch
The finalists will compete for the prize of 4,000 Euros and will be invited to pitch their water project idea to a group of sharks. These sharks will be different from the first group that reviewed competitors’ submissions. Finalists will be provided with relevant guidelines / criteria at least 2 weeks in advance of their final pitch to the sharks. The pitches to the panel of sharks will take place virtually.
The Sharks/Judges
There will be two (2) groups of “sharks” or judges in the competition. The sharks / judges will include a mix of professionals. The competition’s sharks will comprise of:
- Private Investors
- Investment Entities
- Caribbean Water Specialists
- Entrepreneurs
- Innovation Strategists
- Business Development Specialists
- Youth Representatives
- Marketing Specialists
- Government Officials
- Water and Environmental Specialists and more
Partnership with CCIC
Through our partnership with CCIC, the finalists in the competition will be eligible for:
- Full access to CCIC’s Accelerator Programme and suite of courses via their clientbizz platform.
- Access to 16 modules that will cover:
(a) Design Thinking
(b) Business Model Canvas
(c) Lean Startup Method
(d) Startup Financing
(e) Pitch Decks
(f) The Art of Pitching
(g) Working in Teams
(h) Analytics & Social Media
(i) Monetization & eCommerce
(j) Sales Pipelines
(k) Growth Hacking
(l) Customer Support
(m) Teamwork & Leadership
(n) Building a Brand
(o) User Centered Design
(p) Rapid Prototyping
(q) Intellectual Property
(r) Forming a Company
(s) Storytelling in Marketing / PR
- Introductory access to the CCIC GrowthWheel Platform which:
- Provides an alternative to the conventional business plan.
- Provides a better way to support the decision making and action-planning that take place in all companies every day.
- Provides a visual toolkit for dialogue, decision-making and action planning.
- Helps entrepreneurs to build their businesses through a simple action oriented process.
- Stays true to the way most entrepreneurs think and work.
- Helps companies determine which areas to focus on to strengthen and grow.
- Provides a way to establish a sense of community of people and resources around the business.
Questions about the Competition
For any questions regarding the competition, connect with GWP-C at info@gwp-caribbean.org or on our Facebook and Twitter pages at any time!
Competition Brief
All details outlined above on the 2020 Young Caribbean Water Entrepreneurs
Shark Tank Competition can be downloaded here.