Caribbean Idea Marketplace Fostering Local & Diaspora Business Partnerships for Development APPLICATION DEADLINE: May 31, 2012

The Caribbean Idea Marketplaceis a business competition platform that aims to foster collaboration  between local and global Caribbean diaspora entrepreneurs to develop and  expand innovative projects that generate employment and economic growth  by providing US$100,000 grant funding for winning projects.CIM is a dynamic funding initiative that seeks to:

Participating in the Competition Information about the Caribbean Idea Marketplace, eligibility requirements, and how to apply can be found at www.caribbeanidea.org. Applications must be submitted by May 31, 2012.

IdEA was launched by The Secretary of State’s Office of Global Partnerships Initiative in May 2011 at the Secretary’s first Global Diaspora Forum. IdEA is being incubated and managed by the Migration Policy Institute — an independent, nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, DC — in collaboration with the State Department, USAID, and other partner institutions.

Excerpted from: http://www.islandvibesmag.com

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Caribbean  Partner

• Must  be a citizen of one of the following CARIFORUM countries: Antigua and Barbuda, The  Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana,  Haití, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and  Nevis, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
• Must  own a legally registered business, or intend to establish a business in a  CARIFORUM country.
• Have  an innovative idea of how to expand a business or introduce new goods or  services to my community.
• Submission  of a Project Concept Note with a partner from the Caribbean diaspora.
• Must  have a diaspora partner committed to contributing at least 25% of the funding  to the proposed venture.
• The  partner must be of Caribbean heritage/origin or have strong ties with the  Caribbean and be a citizen/permanent resident of the USA, Canada or the UK.

Diaspora  Partner

• Must  be a citizen/permanent resident of the USA, Canada or the UK with Caribbean  heritage/origin or have strong ties with the Caribbean.
• Interested  in establishing a new business or expand an existing business in the  Caribbean.     
• Submission  of a Project Concept Note with a partner who is of Caribbean origin and who  resides in a CARIFORUM country.  
• Must  have a Caribbean partner committed to contributing at least 25% of the funding  to the proposed venture.
• The business will be  established in one of the following CARIFORUM countries: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados,  Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haití, Jamaica, Saint  Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, and  Trinidad and Tobago.

Proposed Business Project

• The Project Concept Note must demonstrate how it will develop either a new product/service,  or a new export market for an existing product/service.
• The project must have the potential to create sustainable  jobs for Caribbean men and women.
• Firms  must have the resources available to at least match the grant amount of  US$100,000.

 

APPLICATION PROCESS

You can apply  online. Please visit the  Caribbean Idea Marketplace Application page.  You will be guided  step by step through the application process.

If you are  unable to access the website, send us an email to diasporacim@iadb.org or send  us a fax at (246) 429 8869 to Compete Caribbean, and someone from the team will  answer your requests. In addition, prospective applicants may submit questions  or request clarification in writing to this address, no later than May 1, 2012.  Compete Caribbean will respond to questions and requests for clarification by  May 15, 2012 and share them with all potential applicants.

• Call for proposals: Project Concept Notes may be submitted from March 1st to May 31st, 2012.
• Proposal selection: Project Concept Notes will be evaluated by a team of experts and the best  project ideas will receive a small grant for developing an Innovation Business  Plan (IBP).
• Business Plan Competition: The Innovation Business Plans will be submitted for review by an Investment  Panel, who will determine which projects should be awarded the US$ 100,000  matching-grant.
• Winners:  Winners will be announced at a special awards  ceremony and will receive matching-grants of US$100,000 based on merit,  innovation, and need.

 

KEY DATES

March 1st, 2012	Call for Project Concept Notes  opened
May 31st, 2012	Deadline for submission of Project  Concept Notes
June 1st – June  30th, 2012	Evaluation  of Project Concept Notes
July 1st, 2012	Announcement  of selected projects to receive technical assistance to prepare an Innovation  Business Plan
July 1st – August 31st, 2012	Selected projects prepare Innovative  Business Plans
August 31st, 2012	Deadline  for submission of Innovation Business Plans
September 1st –  September 30th, 2012	Evaluation of  Innovation Business Plans
October 13th-15th, 2012	Ideas Marketplace Exhibition of  projects that submitted Innovative Business Plans
October 15th,  2012	Awards  Ceremony

ACCESS TO CREDIT

Scotiabank has pledged $100,000 in cash contributions to CIM as well as access   to credit with favorable terms to CIM winners, subject to credit approval,   credit score and other terms & conditions. Please note, Scotiabank cannot support   credit requests for Haiti or Suriname.

 

ACCESS THE CIM APPLICATION FORM

GET MORE INFORMATION

Melissa  Martinez-Nadal   Enterprise  Innovation Challenge Fund   Direct Firm  Support Coordinator   Compete  Caribbean Program     Office:  (246)227-8507/Barbados             (809)784-6400/Dominican Republic Email: melissama@iadb.org