The Caribbean as a Testing Ground for Agentic AI

While most of the world perceives the Caribbean primarily through its beaches and resorts, the new Future Caribbean initiative, led by Barbadian lawyer and tech entrepreneur Lily Dash, shows that the region has much greater ambitions. The Caribbean — with an economy of 700 billion dollars, 45 million inhabitants, and 35 million visitors annually — aims to become a testing ground for the next generation of AI systems.

The reason, according to the organizers, is surprisingly simple: the Caribbean is one of the most fragmented markets in the world. More than 30 countries and territories, multiple currencies, legal systems, and languages — precisely the type of environment where agentic AI can demonstrate its true value. “If it can work in the Caribbean, it can work anywhere,” says Lily Dash, founder of Future Caribbean.

What is a Buildathon and What It Offers

A buildathon is not a classic hackathon. While a hackathon typically lasts 24 to 48 hours and results in prototypes, a buildathon is a 21-day development sprint during which teams build production-deployable AI systems. The goal is not just to come up with an idea — the goal is to build truly functional infrastructure.

What participants will gain:

• NVIDIA H200-class GPU computing power from Highrise AI and Impala AI for the entire duration of the competition
• Access to open-source agentic AI frameworks including OpenClaw — one of the fastest-growing open-source repositories in GitHub history (350,000+ stars)
• Mentoring from global experts from the World Bank, Intel AI Cloud, World Food Programme (WFP), and other institutions
• Investor exposure — winning teams will present their projects live at the New York Stock Exchange

The total prize pool is 70,000 USD (approximately 1.55 million CZK), of which 50,000 dollars in cash and 20,000 dollars in AI deployment stations from OWC. In addition, winners will receive a scholarship to the DMZ incubator at Toronto Metropolitan University, one of the world's top startup accelerators, which will open doors to the North American market for them.

Ten Thematic Areas for Real-World Problems

The buildathon is not open-ended — teams will develop solutions in ten specific areas that reflect the real needs of the Caribbean region:

1. Energy — smart management of energy grids across islands
2. Tourism and Transport — AI for coordinating tourism and logistics
3. Finance, Payments, and Capital for Small Businesses — improving cross-border financial flows
4. Healthcare — more accessible and efficient healthcare
5. Climate Risks and Disaster Coordination — early warning and coordination of hurricane responses
6. Ocean Systems and Blue Economy — sustainable use of marine resources
7. Food Systems and Supply Chains — food security across islands
8. Arts and Culture — AI tools for creative industries
9. Real Estate and Development — smart planning and infrastructure management
10. Open Track — team's own chosen topic

“Artificial intelligence and digital innovation offer strong opportunities to anticipate risks earlier, coordinate responses faster, and better protect vulnerable communities,” stated Brian Bogart, Director of the Caribbean office of the World Food Programme.

Who is Behind It: Bill Tai, IDB Invest, and a Global Network

A remarkable network of partners stands behind the initiative. The main presenting partner is IDB Invest, a development finance institution covering Latin America and the Caribbean with members in over 45 countries. The buildathon was officially announced during IDB Invest Sustainability Week 2026, hosted by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley.

Among the key figures is Bill Tai, a legendary venture capitalist who wrote the first check into Zoom, seeded Canva, and supported over 20 startups that became publicly traded companies during his 35-year career. Tai is also the chairman of ACTAI Global, a non-profit organization with over 5,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators.

“Agentic AI is creating the biggest wave of opportunities we’ve seen in decades. It gives small teams a level of leverage previously unimaginable. The Future Caribbean Buildathon places the region directly in the path of this wave,” said Tai.

Why This Should Interest Czech Developers and Startups

The buildathon is fully remote and open to participants from anywhere in the world. This means that Czech developers, researchers, and startups can also apply. And there are several reasons to do so:

First is access to computing power. NVIDIA H200-class GPU infrastructure is not cheap — for small Czech teams, access to such hardware for three weeks can be a crucial competitive advantage.

Second is global visibility. Presenting at the New York Stock Exchange and gaining access to the investor network offered by Future Caribbean is something most Czech startups cannot achieve except through similar programs.

Third is the meaningfulness of the problem. Fragmented markets are not just a Caribbean specialty — similar challenges are faced by the European Union across its 27 member states. Solutions built for the Caribbean can also find application in a European context. Agentic AI that can manage coordination across different jurisdictions, currencies, and languages is also relevant for Czech companies expanding within the EU.

It should be added that neither Czech language nor Czech mentors are currently featured in the program — communication takes place exclusively in English. However, for technically proficient teams, this does not pose a significant barrier.

Agentic AI as a New Operating System for the Economy

Future Caribbean is not just about a competition — it's an attempt to answer a deeper question: Can agentic AI become an operational layer that helps fragmented regions function as smoothly as if they were a single market?

Most of the world's economies are, in fact, distributed markets — fragmented across jurisdictions, currencies, regulations, and legal systems. The Caribbean is an extreme, but not unique, example. If agentic AI can coordinate economic activity across dozens of islands with different currencies and legal frameworks, the same principle can be applied in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific — and why not in Europe too.

“Coordination across fragmented markets has always been costly, complex, and difficult to scale, cutting off entire regions from themselves and from global markets,” explains Lily Dash. “Agentic AI creates the possibility of coordinating across this complexity in ways that simply weren't possible before.”

Schedule and How to Apply

Buildathon timeline:

• Applications open — from May 29, 2026
• Application deadline — July 3, 2026
• 21-day development sprint — July 17 to August 7, 2026
• Winners announced — September 1, 2026
• Presentation at NYSE — Autumn (Q4) 2026

Applications are open on the website futurecaribbean.com/apply. Teams retain full ownership of all intellectual property created during the competition. Team selection is on a rolling basis, so the earlier you apply, the greater your chance of being included among the final 40 participants.