EXTENDED DEADLINE: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, over 165 million students were out of school and over 26 million jobs were lost in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region. Covid-19 also amplified LAC’s existing inequities across socioeconomic status, age, geography, race and ethnicity, digital access, and gender. In fact, job loss in the LAC region has disproportionately affected women and has increased inequities for informal workers (who make up 60 percent of LAC active workers), youth, lower-skilled workers, people with disabilities, and Indigenous peoples.

While the pandemic has shown successful models of how remote learning and work can help to level the playing field, flexible education and training will need to be further prioritized to provide people across the LAC region with quality learning and employment opportunities. To close the skills gap, infrastructure and innovation will be top of mind, including broadening access and opportunities for remote learning and training. As we prepare for a post-Covid world, people across the region must be equipped with the capabilities, skills, and lifelong learning opportunities to prosper in the work of the future. Now more than ever, solutions are needed to drive innovation and leverage technology to develop people’s potential to learn and obtain good jobs. 

To that end, the 2021 TPrize Challenge seeks technology-enabled solutions across Latin America and the Caribbean that:

• Support teachers and educational institutions with teaching and learning methodologies, tools, and resources that help develop future skills for students

• Design, create, and implement new educational or training models for educators and students that guarantee access to quality education in low connectivity environments

• Promote the assessment and recognition of skills developed outside the formal educational system

• Offer training and flexible curriculum in hard (technical) and soft (social and interpersonal) skills, preparing people for the work of the future 

The 2021 TPrize Challenge offers:

• A US$100,000 prize pool available for the finalists and winners of the TPrize Challenge. Each Finalist team will receive US$5,000, and each winning team will receive US$15,000.

• Customized follow up support for winners, including mentorship, networking connections with experts and key industry leaders, and other activities to help incubate, scale, or accelerate solutions across Latin America and the Caribbean.

This Challenge is open to solutions currently deployed in Latin America and the Caribbean, OR operating elsewhere but with clear plans to deploy in Latin America and the Caribbean. While the application questions are in English, applications can be submitted in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. 

Descripción del Reto

¿Cómo puede la población marginada en América Latina y el Caribe desarrollar las habilidades necesarias para acceder a buenos trabajos, mejores oportunidades y bienestar general?

Como resultado de la pandemia Covid-19, más de 165 millones de estudiantes no pudieron asistir a la escuela y más de 26 millones de empleos se perdieron en la región de América Latina y el Caribe (LAC). El Covid-19 amplificó las desigualdades existentes en LAC en términos socioeconómicos, etarios, geográficos, raciales, étnicos, de acceso digital y de género. De hecho, la pérdida de empleo en la región de LAC ha afectado de manera desproporcionada a las mujeres y ha aumentado las desigualdades para los trabajadores informales (que representan el 60 por ciento de los trabajadores activos de LAC), los jóvenes, los trabajadores menos calificados, las personas con discapacidades y los pueblos indígenas.

Si bien la pandemia ha mostrado modelos exitosos de cómo el aprendizaje y el trabajo remoto pueden ayudar a nivelar el campo de juego, la educación y capacitación flexible deberán priorizarse aún más para brindar a las personas en toda la región de LAC oportunidades de aprendizaje y empleo de calidad. Para cerrar la brecha de habilidades para el trabajo, la infraestructura y la innovación serán una prioridad, incluyendo la ampliación de acceso y oportunidades para el aprendizaje y capacitación a distancia. Mientras nos preparamos para un mundo post-Covid, las personas de la región deben estar equipadas con capacidades, habilidades y oportunidades de aprendizaje permanente para prosperar en el trabajo del futuro. Ahora más que nunca, se necesitan soluciones que impulsen la innovación y aprovechen la tecnología desarrollando el potencial de las personas para aprender y obtener buenos trabajos.

Con este fin, el reto de TPrize 2021 busca soluciones tecnológicas en América Latina y el Caribe que se enfoquen en:

• Proponer a docentes e instituciones educativas prácticas y metodologías de enseñanza-aprendizaje considerando su impacto directo en el desarrollo de las habilidades del futuro en los estudiantes.

• Diseñar, crear e implementar nuevos modelos educativos o formativos que busquen garantizar el acceso a la educación de calidad en entornos de poca conectividad.

• Promover la evaluación y  reconocimiento de habilidades desarrolladas fuera del sistema educativo formal, propiciando nuevas oportunidades laborales y educativas a las personas.

• Ofrecer formación y curriculum flexible en habilidades duras (técnicas) y blandas (sociales, interpersonales, transversales), preparando a las personas para el trabajo del futuro.

Table of Contents

What are the eligibility requirements for applying to the TPrize Challenge?

How are we CrowdSolving the TPrize Challenge?

What type of solutions will be accepted to the TPrize Challenge?

How will my solution be evaluated?

What is the TPrize Challenge Timeline?

What can I win if my solution is selected?

What are the eligibility requirements for applying to the TPrize Challenge?

The TPrize Challenge is open to:

1. Any applicants already working in or plan to expand their solution to the Latin America and Caribbean region. 

2. Individual applicants who are at least 18 years old, or teams in which one member is at least 18 years old.

3. Submissions in English, Spanish, or Portuguese

4. Solutions which are at least at a prototype stage. TPrize Challenge does not accept idea or concept stage solutions.

Applicants can be individual students, entrepreneurs, teams, or established start-ups. If you have a relevant solution, we hope you’ll apply!

How are we CrowdSolving the TPrize Challenge?

1. SOURCING SOLUTIONS Anyone who meets the criteria above can participate in the TPrize Challenge and submit a solution. Whether you have a prototype or scaling your enterprise, we’re looking for innovators and entrepreneurs with the best solutions.

2. SELECTING SOLUTIONS Once the submission deadlines pass, judging begins. After an initial screening by TPrize and Solve staff, TPrize Challenge judges select the most promising solutions as Finalists. These Finalists will be invited to pitch their solutions live at a TPrize Challenge Virtual Pitch Event, where judges will select the winners.

What type of solutions will be accepted to the TPrize Challenge?

The TPrize Challenge considers solutions at various stages of development.

• Prototype: A venture building and testing its product, service, or business model. Typically described as "Pre-Seed" if For-Profit.

• Pilot: An enterprise deploying a tested product, service, or business model in at least one community. Hybrids and For-Profits would typically be in a "Seed" round and starting to generate revenue (whether or not they are cash flow positive).

• Growth: An enterprise with an established product, service, or business model rolled out, which is poised for further growth in multiple communities or countries. Organizations at this stage should have a clear path towards financial sustainability whether they are nonprofit or for-profit. For-Profits at this stage would be "Seed" or "Series A.”

• Scale: A sustainable enterprise working in several communities or countries and that is looking to scale significantly, focusing on increased efficiency. For-Profits in this stage would be "Series A" or "Series B."

The most important thing is that your solution addresses the focus of the TPrize Challenge.

How will my solution be evaluated?

The judging committee for the TPrize Challenge will be comprised of experts and leaders from across industries. After an initial screening by TPrize and Solve staff, the judges will score the screened solutions based on the following criteria:

• Alignment: The solution addresses the challenge that has been set forth.

• Potential for Impact: The planned solution implementation has the potential to impact lives and drive economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.

• Scalability:  The solution can be scaled to affect the lives of more people.

• Feasibility: Solution implementation is feasible, and the team has a plan for financial sustainability.

• Innovative Approach: This is a new solution, a new application of a solution, a new business model, or a new process for solving the challenge, and the team clearly identifies its competitive advantages (e.g. intellectual property)

• Inclusive Human-Centered Design: The solution is designed with and for underserved communities, and the solution team demonstrates proximity to the community and embodies and addresses diversity, equity, and inclusion through their solution.

Selected finalists will pitch before the TPrize Challenge judges and audience during a virtual pitch event in November. Selected finalists may pitch in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. The judges will determine which solutions are the most promising and those selected will receive prize funding and support from TPrize.

What is the TPrize Challenge Timeline?

• June 10, 2021 - TPrize Challenge opens

• September 3, 2021 - Deadline for applicants to submit a solution

• October 2021 - Finalists announced

• November 2021 - Virtual Closed-Door Pitch Event for Finalists

• TBC December 13, 2021 - Public Pitch Event + Winner Announcement at the International Conference on Educational Innovation (CIIE)

What can I win if my solution is selected?

Finalists will be invited to a pitch event to present their solutions in English, Spanish, or Portuguese in front of distinguished judges. A US$100,000 prize pool is available for the finalists and winners of the TPrize Challenge. 

Each Finalist team will receive US$5,000. Each winning team will receive US$15,000.

Being selected as a winner is about much more than just prize funding. In addition to funding, TPrize will be providing customized follow up support for winners, including mentorship, networking connections with experts and key industry leaders, and other activities to help incubate, scale, or accelerate solutions across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Info Session

Register Here

August 30, 12pm ET