Media Contact:
Isabella Troconis
isabella.troconis@yabt.net
About TIC Americas
Concept
The Talent and Innovation Competition of the Americas (TIC Americas) is an international
platform for entrepreneurship and business accelerator for young entrepreneurs and start-ups led
by the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT) with the support of the Organization of
American States (OAS) and our international partners, PepsiCo and the Central American
Bottling Corporation (cbc). For more information, please visit www.ticamericas.net.
Who is it for?
TIC Americas is open to all young people between 18 and 34 years old, nationals of any Member
States of the OAS.
Why TIC Americas is different?
•
•
•
•
•
•
International visibility
Training and access to meaningful tools
International Mentors
Access to angel investors
Participation in other international competitions such as the Global TIC in Taiwan
Mentorship Services and follow-up activities.
How does it work?
TIC Americas is developed in three phases:
1) Design and Development – Virtual Phase

Online Registration
•
Improvement of business proposals registered with the BOOT Camp
•
Project evaluation by international and multidisciplinary experts
2) Evaluation and Validation – Face-to-face Phase
•
TIC Americas Finals and face-to-face evaluation
•
Training and plenary sessions on entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability
•
International Expo and mentoring
•
Awards
3) Follow-up

Consultancy services
•
International Competitions
•
Leadership Links Missions
•
Meetings with potential investors
•
Training: Eco-Entrepreneur, Business Labs and Nex Links
1
Categories
1. Eco-Challenge
PepsiCo and YABT are committed to promote sustainable development in the Western
Hemisphere, by selecting key issues to move forward with a strategic plan. To do this, YABT and
PepsiCo will identify, recognize and reward innovative, sustainable and viable business solutions
to reduce the impact of the industry on the environment. CBC, sponsor of the Eco-Challenge in
Central America, will reward the best team in Central America according to the same criteria
defined for all participants.
The Eco-Challenge 2015 has as its main goal to develop business projects that ensure
environmental sustainability (Millennium Development Goal 7). More specifically, the teams will
develop solutions that are viable, scalable and ready for an investment to the following
challenges:
1. Recycling Coco Husk:
a. An industrial, sustainable and innovative solution to reuse coconut husks.
2. PET Recycling:
a. A sustainable way to collect massively post-consumer PET.
b. An innovative way to reuse large amounts of PET.
3. Water:
a. Create a way to conserve and reuse water at the industry level.
b. Access to potable water.
4. Environmental Education:
a. Platforms or innovative processes (games, apps, etc.) to learn more about the
environment.
2. Social Innovation
In recent years, Latin America and the Caribbean have made progress towards achieving the
MDGs, highlighting sustainable positive results towards poverty reduction. However, the region
remains the most unequal in the world and to advance towards an economic and social
sustainability, promoting a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable development is a priority.
YABT in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the OAS conceived the category of Social
Innovation within TIC Americas, with the aim of promoting economic development of the
member states of the OAS without leaving behind any of the sectors of the population and in line
with the theme of the VII Summit of the Americas "Prosperity with equality."
The Social Innovation category rewards the teams that develop an innovative and scalable
solution that aims to create a positive social impact and improve the quality of life for residents in
their community, country, region and/or world.
All young people are invited to be part on this process so that we can together achieve a positive
impact on our region, presenting their proposals to allow us to improve the following areas:
2






Migration
Education
Tolerance
Social Inclusion
Health and Prevention
Transparency
Any Project registered in the Social Innovation category must meet the following requirements:



It must aim to produce positive and lasting social impact on the entrepreneur’s
community
Must present an innovative and sustainable solution, in the context of the Team’s
community
Must create an aggregate value in society as a whole.
3. Economic Innovation
In recent years, several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have promoted
policies to develop dynamic entrepreneurship. Despite the large increase in the number of
business creation and the economic liberalization that most of the countries in the region have
enjoyed, a flagrant weakness in the entrepreneurial landscape persists: the lack of innovation.
According to the World Bank, this limitation is not only at the level of research and development,
but also in terms of patents, innovation of products and processes.
Although the percentage of entrepreneurs regarding the population is the highest of the world in
Latin America and the Caribbean, there is a need to promote the development of dynamic
enterprises in the region. By pushing forward the economic innovation category, YABT aims to
increase regional competitiveness and promote companies with high added value and high impact
that can contribute to sustained economic growth in the economies of the Western Hemisphere.
The Economic Innovation category rewards the teams that develop innovative and scalable
solutions that seek to create economic opportunities for themselves, their communities, country,
region and/or world.
All young people are invited to be part of this process so that together we can achieve a positive
impact on our region, presenting their proposals to allow us to improve the following areas:






Financial Inclusion
Trade and Industry
Technology and Telecommunications
Tourism
Agriculture
Energy
3. The Caribbean Innovation Challenge (CIC)
The CIC is specifically designed to young people between 18 and 34 years old, coming from
Member States and Associated States of CARICOM and Associated States. For more
3
information, visit www.youthin-cic.net
4