Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) has for many years, recognized the critical importance of creating avenues for young people to become involved in water governance as well as management ventures. The youth of the region will ultimately inherit the developmental challenges in the Caribbean. Hence, 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 the 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. Against this backdrop, GWP-C has launched its 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:

• Climate and Water
• Agriculture and Water
• Health and Water
• Energy and Water
• Tourism and Water

Winners of the GWP-C Young Caribbean Water Entrepreneurs Shark Tank

All entrants in the GWP-C Young Water Entrepreneurs competition will receive a certificate of participation to recognize their efforts and interest in water sustainability. The competition’s seven (7) finalists will each receive a personalized plaque. The winner of the competition will receive a special plaque and seed funding of 4,000 Euros to further develop their innovative water project idea. The winner of the competition and the other finalists will also have their projects featured on the Youth for Water and Climate (YWC) platform for additional exposure.

Eligibility for the Young Caribbean Water Entrepreneurs Shark Tank Competition

Participants eligible for the GWP-C Young Caribbean Water Entrepreneurs Shark Tank Competition must be from the Caribbean or Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nationals. Further, they must be between the ages of 18 – 34 years. And finally, they should have innovative water projects focused on advancing better water resources management in the Caribbean.

Further, the 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.

How to enter the Young Caribbean Water Entrepreneurs Shark Tank Competition

In order to enter the competition, candidates must submit their innovative ideas to transform the use of water resources in the Caribbean region. Further, the candidates must submit:

• A completed project proposal using this template.
• 2 – 3minute video (this can be filmed on a mobile phone) pitching to the camera.

All applications (proposal and video pitch) must be in English. Entrants must submit their project proposal and the pitch video via e-mail

Also, note that a maximum of two (2) persons can apply together on a submission.

Deadline

GWP-C accepts the application for the Young Caribbean Water Entrepreneurs Shark Tank Competition until 15 October 2019. Moreover, applications arriving after the deadline are ineligible for the competition.