Reasons for joining the program
The ACE is a results-driven program that looks to be an effective mechanism and a catalyst for economic, innovation, and entrepreneurial initiatives.  Therefore, the Selection Committee highly values the information included in this section, in order to understand each candidate’s specific goals, ensure a good match between the participants and the overall program, and offer valuable information so that the organizers and ACE Committee Members can better identify, forge, and accelerate opportunities for collaboration.  

Offer:
i) Sharing of knowledge and experiences in the area of SME business development, innovation and entrepreneurship, calls and evaluation of grant proposals in a small island state. Technology as it pertains to the Programmes at the CED , in particular the IAS and IGAP which were modeled along the lines of the Danish Technological Institute’s (DTI’s) Inventor Advisory Service (IAS) and Innovation Agent Programme (IAP) and are unique in the Caribbean. ii) Collaboration in exploiting opportunities for consortium type arrangements to undertake consultancy assignments locally and in other islands of the Caribbean; which includes opportunities for implementation of the IAS, IGAP and Data Analytics Programme in the other islands. iii) Exploitation of opportunities for fellow participants to serve as resource personnel (Subject Matter Experts in evaluation of Project Proposals/Technical Consultants to work with candidates for local grant funding to assist them in developing Detailed Financing Proposals. Such opportunities may become available under a three-year Project (Shaping the Future of Innovation) currently being implemented by CARIRI, as the Executing Agency, with financial support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the European Union (EU).

Ask: 
Some eight years ago, CARIRI established a Centre for Enterprise Development (CED), which is its flagship development for Innovation Facilitation, Incubation, Entrepreneurship Development/New Business Creation. This move resulted from a strategic decision to increase the Institute’s contribution to the national economic diversification efforts. The CED can be described as a central node in the innovation ecosystem since it provides the space, both virtual and physical, for thoughts, ideas and inventions to be transformed into products and services. Its offerings therefore span the spectrum of ‘mind to market’. The Programmes include: a) an Idea Advisory Service (IAS) which affords successfully screened ideators and inventors the opportunity to secure technical and advisory support to transform their ideas and inventions into commercial products and services, either through business start up or licensing; b) an Innovation Gap Analysis Programme (IGAP) which entails reaching out to companies to ascertain the status of innovation activity; undertake gap analyses; identify and shortlist interventions, in collaboration with the company’s senior management personnel; and assist the companies in implementing the identified innovation interventions in their organizations; c) a Business Hatchery Programme (BHP), under which a series of workshops are conducted for budding and growing entrepreneurs over a duration of three (3) months. The Business Hatchery works with early stage entrepreneurs helping them to further develop their project initiatives, which entails, in a number of instances, advancing from proof of concept to proof of business over the three month duration. CARIRI is seeking support under the ACE Programme to further develop/expand the CED to cater for the following: • Fully operationalize its Business Incubator Programme (BIP) With the BHP being the focus of attention, the BIP has a huge scope for growth. CARIRI views this Programme as a critical component of the CED infrastructure as it affords natural progression to graduates of the BHP interested in seeking additional business development support for their entrepreneurial initiatives. Additionally, the services can be made available to SMEs seeking specialist support in critical business development areas such as finance, marketing and sales, and ICT. The support requested through ACE would include opportunities for networking with established Incubators, Accelerator and Venture Capital companies. • Establishment of a Technology Transfer Office(TTO) CARIRI considers that such a Unit forms an integral part of the Innovation Facilitation and Entrepreneurship Development/New Business Creation infrastructure. Through the requisite capacity and capability building, the TTO would be engaged in all facets pertaining to technology transfer and commercialization pertinent to in-country generated and externally sourced technology. These facets include technology incubation, evaluation, sourcing, protecting, marketing, licensing and management of Intellectual Property (IP). Such a service would add significant value to the activities of the CED. • Establishment of an Agri-food Innovation Centre This project, which falls under Technology Incubation, would afford opportunities for research in the area of biotechnology/food technology, inclusive of new product and process development, as well as commercialization, inclusive of contract manufacturing. The project is currently in the planning stages and can benefit from technical and advisory support in establishment and operationalization. Such support would include access to opportunities for collaborative research, study tours and networking with similar institutions.