Activating Innovation — How CARIRI Fuels Caribbean Progress

May 20th, 2025    |   Related To: Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI)

The Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) is committed to fostering innovation and technological capability in the Caribbean.

It supports startups and entrepreneurs in developing and commercialising innovative ideas and technologies. It is executing this mission primarily through a high-impact range of regional projects sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility (CCPF), the European Union (EU), and the World Bank.

The Centre for Enterprise Development (CED) is CARIRI’s flagship facility for innovation facilitation, business and technology development, and entrepreneurship growth. CARIRI supports startups and entrepreneurs through a suite of programmes and services that are available at this facility. These include the Idea Advisory Service (IAS), the Innovation Gap Analysis Programme (IGAP), the Business Hatchery Programme (BHP), the Food Processing Centre (FPC), ICT/Data Analytics, which involves developing and implementing custom software solutions, and the Democratising Innovation in the Americas (DIA) Programme.

Bridging Innovation Gaps in Business

The IAS focuses on effectively screening ideas to ensure they are high quality and have good business potential. “It provides technical and advisory support to take innovative ideas and inventions through the continuum from mind to market,” explained CEO Hans-Erich Schulz. “IGAP’s role is to go into SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and large public and private enterprises to assess their status of innovation, identify gaps where innovative interventions could be made and assist the companies in implementing the interventions,” he said.

The Business Hatchery Programme addresses the business development needs of startups and early-stage businesses. It provides training via workshops, peer review sessions, and weekly one-on-one business coaching on customer validation, market research techniques and strategies, finance, and business pitch development.

The Food Processing Centre supplies technical/technological and advisory support to small businesses in food safety management systems, product and process development, facilities and equipment design and layout, shelf-life testing, product labelling and training.

Catalysing Innovation through R&D

In addition to its in-house capability to offer research and development (R&D) support, technology transfer, and consultancy services to refine and commercialise products, Schulz noted that CARIRI also organises capacity-building workshops, innovation competitions and hackathons, and networking opportunities with industry experts and investors. It offers a wide range of training customised to Caribbean needs. Through its partnership with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), CARIRI also assists companies in navigating challenges related to IP rights, patents, and commercialisation strategies, he added.

CARIRI’s state-of-the-art laboratory testing facilities can aid innovators with their R&D endeavours in food technology, analytical chemistry, microbiology, environmental sciences, industrial materials, metallurgy, air quality management and calibration. It is also the implementing agency for the transformative “Shaping the Future of Innovation (STFOI)” project funded by the EU and the IDB, which provides access to grant funding, deepens industry-academia links, and builds an innovation network.

One notable success story that underscores the impact of CARIRI’s innovation support services is the “Rubber Crumb Project.” This initiative addresses environmental and economic challenges by recycling waste rubber tyres into useful products such as rubber crumbs. Schulz said the ultimate goal is “the establishment of a thriving rubber crumb manufacturing industry in the region.”

By Kay Baldeosingh-Arjune