PHILIP Wells, the entrepreneur behind the mobile app startup Parent Teacher Advisor made the finals of the PitchIT 2016, which was held in Trinidad and Tobago last week.
The entrepreneur was one of 25 finalists competing for more than US$75,000 in cash and prizes through the challenge organized by the Caribbean Mobile Innovation Project (CMIP).
PitchIT is a competition to discover new startup and mobile app ideas from across the Caribbean. It is funded through EPIC, which is a World Bank Group and Government of Canada programme to stimulate entrepreneurship in the region.
Wells said: “This was a very valuable experience. There are so many positive things about the Pitchit initiative. Pitchit has given Caribbean startups the opportunity to develop the mobile app ecosystem with the best resources.
“Pitchit is all about working and collaborating with fellow entrepreneurs in the Caribbean.”
To date PitchIT has and continues to support over 50 Caribbean startups from Antigua to Suriname. Entrepreneurs are given access to the mentors and trainers who have built successful startups internationally.
Wells said: “My take away from PitchIT is that we are not competitors. However, we are entrepreneurs working, mentoring, and collaborating to give back to our various communities. Entering a competition of this nature has given me the confidence that we can produce apps which are needed. Mobile apps that are able to solve real problems for us as a people.”
Wells owns Sunbiztech Investment which provides ICT projects and consulting services. This was his second time making it into the PitchIT finals. Last June he made the Caribbean’s Top 25 in Montego Bay Jamaica with F.A.R.M.S. This mobile apps connects farmers of fresh fruits and vegetables to Hoteliers and Restaurants. http://www.farmslc.com/
Twentyfive finalists from the Caribbean worked to reinvent their ideas and early startups in a two-day boot camp before presenting their apps in front of a live audience and a panel of judges.
The eventual winners were Kelly-Ann Bethel with SKED and D Carnival Scene by Ayana St. Louis from Trinidad & Tobago; QuickPlate by Monique Powell and The Interview JM by Danielle Tait from Jamaica and Nerissa Golden with IndeTours from Montserrat.
Parent Teacher Advisor is a mobile application which connects parents and early childhood educators in real-time, enhancing communication and administrations between the parties.