Excitement is high for the first OECS Business Solutions Think Tank and Hackathon, which is mere days away.

The event is organised by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) in collaboration with Quintessence Consulting Ltd and eCaribbean Ltd of St. Kitts.

At the close of registration on Monday, there were 102 participants ready to collaborate to find solutions for challenges identified by business owners through a survey.

Coordinator Telly Onu of Quintessence Consulting said they are all thrilled with the responses from across the Eastern Caribbean. There are: 15 Anguilla – 12 male 3 female 10 Antigua – 8 male 2 female 11 Dominica – 8 male 3 female 13 Grenada – 9 male 4 female 7 Montserrat – All male 13 St Lucia – 11 male 2 female 18 St Kitts & Nevis – 10 male 8 female 14 St Vincent & the Grenadines – 12 male 2 female.

The consultant noted that it is no surprise that there are almost as many women as men registered for the competition in St. Kitts & Nevis. “The use of IT is high. Women here understand how to use it and leverage it to get business done. We need to see more of this across the region.”

The Business Solutions Think Tank and Hackathon is the first collaborative dynamic forum that brings together persons of diverse experiences and expertise to produce real functioning IT applications (from concept, to working prototype, to final product) that address real world problems related to the OECS.

Competitors will vie for a first prize of EC$3500 for working on the following challenges:

1. Market Reach
2. Universal View of Customer and Multi Channel Customer Support
3. Supply Chain Management
4. Facilities Management

Sir K. Dwight Venner, Governor of the ECCB is scheduled to give opening remarks at the hackathon which begins 1:00 PM on Thursday August 13. Friday, the 14th is the team hack day and the event ends on Saturday, the 15th. Participants will be connected via video conferencing in each of the eight member states.