AN artificial intelligence platform designed to eliminate manual data entry from corporate workflows is among a new wave of start-up ideas emerging to address inefficiencies and risks across Jamaica’s economy.

Student entrepreneurs are increasingly targeting practical business challenges, with solutions focused on document automation, climate-risk intelligence, and insurance claims processing.

The trend was on display last week at the 2026 Innovation Challenge where Team Connective’s Data Bridge platform took the top prize over 10 other finalists.

The annual competition, hosted by Sagicor Group Jamaica and the University of Technology, Jamaica, has become a showcase for student-built technology ventures aimed at solving real-world operational problems.

Team Connective won $500,000 at the April 21 final, held at the AC Hotel Kingston, with Data Bridge, a platform designed to extract, organise and transfer information across systems without manual input. The team said the tool can process large volumes of records in seconds, reducing turnaround times and human error in data-heavy environments.

Second-place finisher SurPath received $250,000 for a climate-risk intelligence platform that maps hazard exposure across Jamaica’s 14 parishes; while Nexus Innovation claimed third place and $100,000 with an artificial intelligence-powered tool that automates insurance claims processing. Each winning faculty will also receive $50,000 for an independent project.

The range of solutions presented reflects growing interest among young entrepreneurs in applying technology to areas where businesses and institutions face high costs, inefficiencies or rising risks.

Sagicor said it has invested more than $125 million in the Sagicor Innovation Lab at the University of Technology, Jamaica since the programme was established in 2019, and it continues to commit roughly $25 million annually to support innovation, mentorship and research.

“This competition continues to demonstrate the incredible depth of talent and creativity among Jamaica’s young people,” Sagicor Group Jamaica President and Chief Executive Christopher Zacca said in a statement.

Other finalists included Campus Cart, a student-only digital marketplace designed to facilitate safer peer-to-peer commerce within university communities; Team Syntropy; Team Innogrid; Y Combinators; Walkway+ by Denzil Thompson; Techtora Softworks; and Team Lunar Labs.

While the competition highlights the strength of student-led innovation in Jamaica, turning promising prototypes into viable businesses remains a challenge. Selling locally built software to financial institutions, insurers and government agencies often involves long procurement cycles and competition from established international providers such as UiPath, ABBYY and Microsoft Power Automate.