Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname: if your women-led business is based in one of those eight, the Caribbean Development Bank has a clean energy program with your name on it. On September 30, CDB launched the US$550,000 SheTrades Caribbean Tech It Up Facility, which includes a US$100,000 R&D grant for one business. The bank says women-led small businesses still face barriers to technology, financing, technical expertise and business networks in emerging green economy sectors.
Canada’s Supporting Resilient Green Energy (SuRGE) Programme is paying for it, and it runs through CDB’s SheTrades Caribbean Hub from 2026 to 2028.
Here is what’s on the table. One women-led business in science, technology or product development gets US$100,000 to build commercially viable solutions in energy efficiency, renewable energy applications or smart energy systems. Mentorship, business coaching, intellectual property guidance and market-readiness support come with the money.
You don’t need a finished product to be in the running. CDB is open to women-led enterprises with ideas at the research, prototyping, pilot or early commercialization stage, as long as the idea can contribute to the sustainable energy transition.
Judges will be looking at innovation, technical feasibility, patentability, commercial viability, environmental impact, and whether the idea can create scalable and sustainable economic opportunities.
There is one condition. The winner has to collaborate with Caribbean and Canadian academic institutions working on clean energy research.
Beyond the grant, the wider facility offers eligible women-led businesses technical assistance and financial support, with a focus on commercializing clean energy innovations, building technical and business management skills, accessing financing, and plugging into regional and global clean energy value chains.
CDB Vice-President of Operations Dr. Isaac Solomon said the aim is to close the gap between innovation and commercialization. Canada’s High Commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Brenda Wills, said the program ties women’s economic empowerment to climate resilience.
Applications for the R&D grant open in the first quarter of 2027 through CDB’s Submittable portal. Eligibility criteria and guidelines will be published before the call goes live.
— SS
Stephen Stanberry
