Martin Hanna and “Penny Pinch” are the winners of the 2019 TEN Habitat Caribbean Startup Summit’s pitch competition. The flagship event, held in Barbados on May 24 and 25, 2019 is an annual summit which brings together a global team of startup experts, founders and entrepreneur resource providers to develop startups in the region. The 20-year-old CEO of Saint Lucia’s First Digital Savings Platform “Penny Pinch” captured the top spot at the summit’s “Pitch Pit”; convincing a high-level judging panel that his concept for online coupon marketing could revolutionize online retail shopping in the region.
This achievement is quite timely for Martin who launched the “tech” enterprise late last year and is looking to make the brand a household name for avid shoppers. Martin who is also a freelance graphic designer, has plans to expand the platform to neighbouring OECS islands and by extension the entire Caribbean once the application becomes widely used among Saint Lucians. Penny Pinch brings immense benefits to the online shopping experience, broadening the market for local businesses while attracting foreign exchange from visitors who may opt to use the application.
Martin, who is also St Lucia’s Most Outstanding Youth in Innovation and Technology hopes to use this latest achievement to inspire young entrepreneurs to be risk-takers and invest in their skills and abilities. He is excited for the future of Penny Pinch, with plans to launch the application with 20+ merchants and scale to 75+ by year-end.
TEN Habitat is the response to a growing need for a more inclusive approach to how Caribbean startups are supported and funded. The initiative focuses on developing investor-ready startups by exposing them to a range of hands-on support that is all about building businesses.