Team Montserrat demonstrated its understanding and application of Information Technology solutions for businesses when its web and mobile prototype, DigiCrops, captured the first place and cash prize of $3,500 in the first ever OECS Business Solutions Think Tank and Hackathon.
DigiCrops is an online marketplace which seeks to simplify the process of selling vegetables and other crops in the Caribbean by connecting farmers directly to buyers through the use of an ‘app’. The DigiCrops team comprised: Dr Samuel Joseph, Manish Valechha, Jhovan Daniel, Dexter Small and Enver Browne; with Sharmaine Francois and Felicia Linch as mentors.
The OECS Business Solutions Think Tank and Hackathon initiative, which was held from
13 – 15 August, was spearheaded by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), and Quintessence Consulting and eCaribbean Ltd of St Kitts and Nevis. The two-day exercise brought together students, IT teachers and other IT professionals, business owners, business associations’ representatives, and thought leaders from across the ECCU and involved brainstorming sessions, formulating ideas and coding.
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The 124 participants worked in teams, and produced 11 prototypes designed to alleviate problems faced by the public and private sectors in the OECS. Fourteen mentors from the Information Technology (IT) community throughout the region were on hand to guide the participants as they developed their “apps”.
A panel of 13 judges evaluated the applications using four criteria:
• User experience and design;
• Innovation;
• Impact potential and sustainability; and
• Shared resource/collaboration
Antigua and Barbuda took the second place and the prize of EC$2,500.00 for with its web and mobile app Clink(Cari-Link) which seeks to address the challenges and pressures facing small and medium enterprises within the OECS and across the wider Caribbean, particularly inter-island trade. The team comprised: Elijah James, Julianne Jarvis, Rawle Punter, Dirk Agard, Garrick Stevens and St Claire Henry with Telojo ‘Telly’ Valerie Onu as its mentor.
Anguilla was awarded the third prize of EC$1,000.00 for its mobile chat “app”- EdConnector.ai, which allows teachers to engage in direct dialogue with the parents of their students on issues related to the child’s academic development. The members were: Rebecca Haskins, Danielle Henry, Khonn Hazell- Fleming, Kenvis Gumbs, Jose Vanterpool and Christoph Pradel and its mentor Ardin Richardson.
The ECCB provided the prize awards, which would be used for the development of the prototype “apps”. The ECCB, Quintessence Consulting and eCaribbean Ltd will also assist with enhancing the participants’ competency in application development by collaborating with the mentors and judges to provide support to all the teams to transform their prototypes into viable products. They will also seek to advance the formation of an e-forum for the participants and encourage their participation in other hackathons outside of the OECS region.
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Please check the Facebook page for more information: https://www.facebook.com/thinktankhackathon
ALL PROJECTS – Full list of the other participating teams and projects:
Commonwealth of Dominica
Fasman: A facilities management application
Team Members: Maya Bannis, Shaynne Gibbons, Lloyd Julien, Chase Lawrence
Mentor: Cedric Pemberton
Market Reach Caribbean: A market research and shopping rewards mobile app
Team Members: Veronne Nicholas, Esaias Burnette, Jamally Barnwell, Vernelle Sylvester, Rohaan Allport
Mentor: Charles Louis
Grenada
Agrigate – An online marketplace for farmers to sell their goods to buyer
Team Members: Richard McNeilly, Eric Nurse, Glen Noel, Sheldon Noel
Mentors: Alice Bain and Andre Purcell
Saint Lucia
eSlamm – A mobile application to assist the traffic department with an electronic System for Licensing Authentication, Monitoring and Management (ESLAMM) System. (Vehicle and driver registration, verification and revenue collection.
Team Members: Phillip Wells, Alton Stephens, Terrence Elliott, Gervan Thomas
Mentor: Gerry George
St Kitts and Nevis
Bigdealz – A mobile application that allows for measuring advertising Effectiveness
Team Members: Twyla Amory, Mickian Browne, Nima Browne, Dion Browne, Angela Gumbs
Mentors: Tishon Thomas, Sharon Simmonds, Russell Williams
SNAP Business Design – A shopping app to assist the elderly and the disabled
Team Members: Kai Nigh; Jonelle Pemberton; Jason Benner; Kayla Weekes; Deleon Esdaille; Javon Liburd
Mentor(s): Tishon Thomas, Sharon Simmonds, Russell Williams
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Regional Business Map – a business locator app
Team Members: Jamal Lavia; CarlonThomas; Marlon St. John
Mentor: Paul Morris
One Reach – a market research app designed to help businesses examine expectations, experiences and advertisement reach of several groups. It would also help with potential customers, first-time buyers, and repeat purchases.
Team Members: Oneil Aprott, Veneisha Daniel, Akiki John, Jason Peters, Britney Taylor, Bevan Lewis
Mentor: Hanniff Sutherland
JUDGES
Anguilla
• Larry Franklyn Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Utilities
Antigua and Barbuda
• Hewlette Fearon, Technical Research Officer and Project Administrator, Ministry of Telecommunications, Science and Technology
Commonwealth of Dominica
• Marie Marlon, Business Development Officer, OECS, Competitive Business Unit, CBU,
• Jean Pierre, Director of ICT Unit, Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica
Grenada
• Christian Chu Fook, IT Professional and Engineer
• Chad Fraser, IT Professional, Government of Grenada
Montserrat
• Denzil West, IT Director, Government of Montserrat
• Peter White, Border Security, Government of Montserrat
Saint Lucia
• Ian Mitchell, President, ICT Association
• Robin Schouten, Entrepreneur and IT Professional
St Kitts and Nevis
• Peter Chevozerov, Manager, Peter KN
• Christopher Herbert, PS & Director, IT Department, Government of St. Kitts and Nevis
St Vincent and the Grenadines
• Michael John, Owner and Manager, Computec Computer Services
• Ellsworth John, Director, Regional Integration and Diaspora Unit, St Vincent and the Grenadines