BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) says it has entered into a partnership with the Jamaica-based technology company, TechBeach to expand access to the business curriculum for entrepreneurs and start-ups across the region.

It said that this will be achieved through combining CDB’s capacity in social and economic programmes with TechBeach’s technology entrepreneur training programme TBR LAB, which is an initiative between TechBeach, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and world-class accelerator programme, the DMZ.

The CDB said that it is with a mission of being the Caribbean’s first pure tech accelerator programme and that its vision is to radically transform the region’s digital landscape and surrounding emerging markets through a comprehensive ecosystem approach, empowering the emergence of companies as well as enabling employees, SMEs, enterprise organisations and governments to leverage technology as a driver for their own success.

Lisa Harding, the coordinator of Micro, Small and Medium Size Enterprise Development at the CDB said that the bank’s intervention will amplify TechBeach’s and “our ability to offer localised, country-specific programming as well as to reach, identify and train entrepreneurs from underserved markets.

“This partnership is critical to position technology companies as vehicles for innovation, job creation and sustainable economic growth in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and our Corporate Strategy”.

Applications are open for the TBR LAB twice annually. Those who are accepted into the programme receive access to upwards of USD $600,000 in perks and resources from global enterprises including Amazon Web Services, Stripe, Microsoft and Google, as well as world class learning opportunities delivered by experienced success stories from the global tech industry.

Since its inception TBR LAB technology companies have collectively raised in excess of US$50 million and are quickly becoming catalysts for economic growth and job creation.

“We are happy to expand our working relationship with the Caribbean Development Bank, which started with the very first Tech Beach conference in Jamaica” said Kirk-Anthony Hamilton, Co-Founder of TechBeach

“Technology is a highly differentiated industry. The tools and resources of the past don’t always work for those building in this space. Our goal is simply to arm Caribbean Nationals with what they need to be successful in tech. This partnership is exciting because it allows us to be even more inclusive and increase the reach of that impact to islands we otherwise could not support,” Hamilton said.