Promoting Innovation-led Economic Development
Building the Innovation Network
The objective of this component of the project isto develop a network model that links and connects local actors as well as external regional and international accelerators, incubators, academic institutions, venture
capitalist and company builders to create an innovation network that can support continuity and expansion of the innovation thrust in Trinidad and Tobago.
Workshops
As part of the project implementation, a series of Design Sprint workshops was hosted, they were administered in two parts. Part one was held last November 30 th , December 1st, and 7 th 2022, virtually via the zoom platform. The resulting output from part one of the workshop was the identification of three (3) top initiatives to support and cultivate the ecosystem by the ecosystem stakeholders. Part two of the Design Sprint activities was focused on prototyping and testing of these initiatives, after two days of intensive teamwork and collaboration the following three initiatives were pitched at the Networking event: An in-school Innovation Entrepreneurship Program, An online platform to analyse an entrepreneur business and share information among and between ecosystem stakeholders called Best FiTT and a National Development Initiative through a National Schools Innovation Intercol Competition. These initiatives are symbolic and illustrative of the starting steps of a longer process to attain the improved coordination of the wide range of actors that form part of the Trinidad and Tobago Innovation ecosystem.
The Innovation Ecosystem stakeholders are comprised of key representatives from the following organisations: American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago( AMCHAM T&T); CARICOM, Generation Wealth; Ministry of Planning and Development; Ministry of Public Utilities; Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI); National Institute of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (NIHERST); The College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT); The Leadership Lab Limited; The National Export Facilitation Organization of Trinidad and Tobago (ExporTT); The Trinidad and Tobago International Financial Centre (TTIFC); United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP); University of the West Indies (UWI); University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) and Youth Business Trinidad and Tobago ( YBTT).