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Enterprise Cayman has recently announced that the 4^th annual Cayman Islands Business Design Competition is now open for submissions. Creative individuals, businesses, and entrepreneurs are invited to take part in the high-impact competition to help launch their next innovative business idea.

The Cayman Islands Business Design Competition produced by Enterprise Cayman and sponsored by Cayman Enterprise City (CEC), has been designed to support Caymanians and residents of the Cayman Islands in kick-starting new business products, services, and/or features quickly while helping to reduce the risk of bringing new ideas to market. The competition provides entrepreneurs and innovators access to professional support networks, a curated series of workshops, and significant networking opportunities.

The competition is open to residents of the Cayman Islands over 18 years, and thanks to the support from CEC, is completely free for all entrants. "The Business Design Competition plays a key role in expanding Cayman's thriving innovative ecosystem," said Alyssa Manderson, Programme and Events Coordinator at Enterprise Cayman. "The competition encourages the exchange of knowledge amongst professionals and fuels business innovation. Witnessing the evolution of participants throughout the 2023 competition was exhilarating and highlighted the abundant creativity and entrepreneurial talent that we have here, in Cayman. We eagerly anticipate collaborating with the finalists of the 2024 competition and can't wait to see what they will accomplish."

Participants are invited to compete as individuals, or in teams of up to four members. Ten finalists will be selected in late February 2024 to develop their ideas with the help of professional advisors and a network of seasoned entrepreneurs. The competition includes two days of workshopping sessions called “Design Days”, a public speaking session, a technical rehearsal, and conclude with the competition’s finale, the “Pitch Day”, where competitors will pitch in front of a live audience and to a panel of judges. Teams will be competing for cash prizes up to USD $10,000, sponsored wraparound business services valued up to USD $10,000, and four competition awards including the “Community Impact Award”, the “Innovation Award”, the “People’s Choice Award”, and the “Project of the Year Award”.

Substitute Teachers of Cayman (STOC) by Sharice McLean, Deidre Garcia-Daniel, Maggie Ebanks, and Kirkpatrick Clarke took home the 2023 “Project of the Year Award”. “We are so grateful that we got to participate in the business design competition sponsored by CEC and that we were chosen as the business of the year,” said Sharice McLean from STOC. “It is truly amazing to see that CEC is helping upcoming entrepreneurs like us in the community. The support that we got from advisors of the Enterprise Cayman team and our fellow competitors was very helpful and encouraging. We are more excited than ever and ready to make our business idea become a reality.”

The deadline to apply to the Cayman Islands Business Design competition is 31 January 2024. Members of the public are invited to attend an online information session which is set to take place Wednesday, 24 January 2024 at 12:00 pm. For competition details and to apply, visit https://www.enterprisecayman.ky/business-design-competition.