What caribbean science foundation does

The Caribbean Science Foundation (CSF) is a Barbados-domiciled non-profit, non-governmental organization founded on September 21, 2010 by the Caribbean Diaspora for Science, Technology and Innovation (CADSTI) to assist in diversifying Caribbean economies through science and technology education. Headquartered at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus in Bridgetown, CSF operates a portfolio of nine STEM-focused programs — most prominently the Student Program for Innovation in Science and Engineering (SPISE), a four-week residential summer program for gifted Caribbean high-school students modeled after MIT's MITES program. Other programs include the Barbados Junior Robotics Camp (ages 9–13), the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge (secondary-school STEM competition), Caribbean STEM Olympiads, Caribbean SEED Summit, Caribbean Computer Coding Workshops (C3W), the SPISE Internship Program, CaribVenture (startup challenge), and STEM Teacher Training Workshops delivered with UNESCO-approved micro-science kits.

CSF's underlying "technology" is curriculum and program design rather than a software platform: calculus, physics, biochemistry, Mandarin, robotics, electronics/renewable energy, entrepreneurship, and Python programming, taught via residential summer intensives, in-country teacher workshops, robotics camps, and competitions. Its revenue model is entirely donation- and sponsorship-driven — government grants, corporate sponsors, development banks (Caribbean Development Bank), diaspora philanthropy, and individual donors fund free programs for participants. CSF has stated a US$13 million three-year fundraising goal, though actual realized inflows are not disclosed; the only specific grant figure reported is US$20,000 to AES Energy Systems of Barbados in January 2017 for energy-audit software development.

Programs are delivered directly to students through institutional partnerships (UWI, CXC, Ministries of Education across the Caribbean, CAS) and recruited via competitive application processes. Since 2012, SPISE has served 265 students from 18 Caribbean countries, with alumni matriculating at MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, and other leading institutions and earning scholarships including Knight-Hennessy and Rhodes. The Barbados Junior Robotics Camp has reached ~430 students since 2015, the Internship Program has placed 78 interns at 26 host organizations since 2014, and nine teacher training workshops have been conducted across St. Vincent, Antigua, Barbados, St. Kitts, Dominica, and Jamaica during 2015–2017. Leadership is anchored by Prof. Cardinal Warde (MIT, Electrical Engineering), who serves as Chairman of the Governing Council and Interim Executive Director, with a board that includes executives from Sagicor, Riverwood Capital, UWI Consulting, and CARISCIENCE.

Name

caribbean science foundation

Legal name

Caribbean Science Foundation

Website

https://caribbeanscience.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Education Services

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Computer Training (611420)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM Research & Inquiry Programs (Research Mentorship, Science Fair Prep) (EDAMABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs) (EDAMABAA), Robotics & Engineering Summer Camps / Bootcamps (EDAMADAF), STEM & Maker Education (Makerspaces, Coding Clubs, Robotics) (EDAAAFAL), STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

Keywords

• STEM education programs
• Residential summer institute
• Robotics camps youth
• Teacher training workshops
• Caribbean olympiads

Headquarters

HQ city

Bridgetown

HQ country

Barbados

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsorships: CSF is a non-profit organization that relies entirely on donations, grants, and corporate sponsorships to fund its educational programs. Most SPISE students participate free of charge due to generous donations from sponsors. The organization aims to raise approximately US$13 million over three years from a wide variety of sources.
2. Grant Funding: Funding comes from government sources, development banks, corporate sponsors, and the diaspora. Specific grants include US$20,000 to AES Energy Systems of Barbados in January 2017 for energy audit software development.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Caribbean Science Foundation runs a portfolio of free, residential and workshop-based STEM educational programs for Caribbean students and teachers, including the four-week SPISE summer institute for gifted high-school students, junior robotics camps, regional STEM olympiads, computer coding workshops, an internship placement program, STEM teacher training using UNESCO micro-science kits, and the CaribVenture startup funding challenge. All programs are delivered free of charge to participants and funded through donations, grants, and corporate sponsorships sourced via the CADSTI diaspora network.

Product overview

Caribbean Science Foundation (CSF) is a non-profit organization that operates a portfolio of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) educational programs rather than a commercial product/platform. The organization runs nine distinct programs: SPISE (a four-week residential summer program for gifted high-school students covering university-level STEM subjects, robotics, and entrepreneurship); the Barbados Junior Robotics Camp (for students ages 9-13 learning engineering and programming); Caribbean STEM Olympiads (regional competition); Caribbean SEED Summit (economic development focused); Caribbean Computer Coding Workshops; SPISE Internship Program (connecting alumni with research opportunities); CaribVenture (startup funding initiative); STEM Teacher Training Workshops (for regional educators); and the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge (school-based STEM competition). These programs work together to advance CSF's mission of diversifying Caribbean economies through science and technology education reform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SPISE: Student Program for Innovation in Science and Engineering - an intensive four-week residential summer program for gifted Caribbean high-school students interested in studying and exploring careers in science and engineering
• Barbados Junior Robotics Camp (BJRC)
• Barbados Robotics Innovation Challenge (BRIC)
• Caribbean STEM Olympiads (CSO)
• Caribbean SEED Summit
• Caribbean Computer Coding Workshops (C3W)
• CaribVenture
• Sagicor Visionaries Challenge

Products and services

• Student Program for Innovation in Science and Engineering (SPISE) Intensive four-week residential summer enrichment program for gifted Caribbean high-school students ages 16-18 interested in pursuing careers in science and engineering. Students study university-level calculus, physics, biochemistry, entrepreneurship, Mandarin, and robotics/electronics, all expenses paid, at the UWI Cave Hill Campus in Barbados.
• Barbados Junior Robotics Camp (BJRC) Annual summer enrichment program for young Barbadian students ages 9-13 interested in STEM. Students learn basic engineering concepts, design robots, and write software programs for robot functionality, including building catapults, mobile transportation vehicles, and advanced autonomous robots.
• Caribbean STEM Olympiads (CSO) Regional competition for Caribbean students testing STEM knowledge and skills across multiple levels and events.
• Caribbean SEED (STEM Engine for Economic Development) Summit (CSS) Annual summit focused on STEM applications for economic development in the Caribbean region.
• Caribbean Computer Coding Workshops (C3W) Computer coding workshops for Caribbean citizens teaching programming skills, with programs now run in Barbados, St. Lucia, and Dominica.
• SPISE Internship Program Internship program placing SPISE alumni into business settings and research roles at host organizations in the US, Canada, UK, and the Caribbean.
• CaribVenture Startup challenge initiative by CSF to stimulate technology-based entrepreneurship by identifying and funding science and technology projects in new and existing enterprises.
• STEM Teacher Training Workshops Regional workshops for primary school teachers focusing on Problem Based Learning and Inquiry Based Science Education methods using UNESCO-approved micro-science kits, conducted across multiple Caribbean countries in partnership with Caribbean Academy of Sciences.
• Sagicor Visionaries Challenge Competition in partnership with Sagicor and CXC for Caribbean secondary school students to develop innovative STEM solutions to problems in their schools or communities, delivered through teacher-mentored school teams.
• Barbados Robotics Innovation Challenge (BRIC) Robotics innovation competition for Barbadian students.

Quantifiable outcome

• 265 SPISE alumni have attended prestigious universities including MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, U Penn, McMaster, UWI
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CADSTI (Caribbean Diaspora for Science, Technology and Innovation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 September 2010CADSTI is the parent organization that formed CSF in 2010 to implement its mission on the ground in the Caribbean Region. Most of CSF's resources (funding, technical expertise, business expertise, and international collaborations) come via CADSTI which mobilizes the Diaspora. CADSTI has branches in UK, New England, US Southeast, and US Mid-Atlantic.
• University of the West Indies (UWI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner for SPISE program. SPISE is hosted at UWI Cave Hill Campus in Barbados. UWI provides facilities and academic credibility. Prof. Winston Mellowes (UWI St. Augustine) serves as facilitator for teacher training workshops.
• Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner in SPISE and Sagicor Visionaries Challenge. CXC provides educational expertise and helps validate programs. Dr. Didacus Jules, Registrar of CXC, serves as educational policy expert.
• SagicorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides all funding for the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge competition at both national and regional levels. CSF provides academic content, mentors, and judges for the competition targeting secondary school students.
• MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProf. Cardinal Warde is MIT Professor of Electrical Engineering and founder of CSF. SPISE is modeled after MIT's Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) program. MIT Sea-Grant provides underwater robots for SPISE robotics projects.
• ERANET-LACminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSF is a partner along with 15 EU and Latin American countries in the ERANET-LAC project, a network of EU and CELAC on Joint Innovation and Research Activities. CSF has participated in ICT project funding for Barbados companies.
• UNESCOminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of CSF launch in 2010. Provides UNESCO-approved micro-science kits for teacher training workshops. Dr. Kwame Boafo, UNESCO Director for Caribbean, attended the launch.
• Government of Trinidad and TobagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey sponsor of CSF launch in 2010. Senator Fazal Karim, Minister of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education, gave keynote address. Ministry committed to creating an innovative, entrepreneurial, and knowledge-driven society.
• Caribbean Academy of Sciences (CAS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with CSF on STEM Teacher Training Workshops for primary school teachers. Professor Winston Mellowes is Foreign Secretary of CAS. Joint workshops held in St. Vincent, Antigua, Barbados, St. Kitts, Dominica, and Jamaica.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/caribsf
• Facebookfacebook.com/caribsf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/caribbean-science-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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