Over J$125 million invested since inception to power Jamaica’s Next-Gen Innovators

Team Connective emerged as the overall winner of the 2026 Sagicor Group Jamaica (Sagicor) and University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Ja) Innovation Challenge, held on April 21, 2026, at AC Hotel, Kingston.

 The annual competition, now in its sixth staging, is a flagship collaboration between Sagicor and UTech, Ja, allowing students to develop technological solutions for real-world problems, fostering innovation, entrepreneurship and practical problem-solving among emerging Jamaican talent.

Team Connective’s winning solution, “Data Bridge”, stood out for its use of artificial intelligence to tackle one of the most persistent and costly inefficiencies in modern organisations, manual data entry. By instantly extracting, organising and transferring information across systems, the platform can process large volumes of documents in seconds, significantly reducing turnaround time while minimising human error. In high-volume environments where speed and accuracy are critical, this shifts workflows from slow and bottlenecked to seamless and real-time.

The result is not just improved efficiency, but a smarter way of working, freeing teams to focus on higher-value tasks while transforming how organisations handle information. The team walked away with the top prize of J$500,000 after outperforming ten other teams in the final. The students’ respective faculties will also receive $50,000 each to pursue an innovative project. SurPath secured second place with J$250,000, while Nexus Innovation claimed third place and J$100,000, rounding out a strong showcase of Jamaica’s next generation of innovators.

This year’s Sagicor-UTech Innovation Challenge began on February 12, 2026. The competition guided participants through a structured process that included workshops, prototype development and business validation, culminating in a final pitch to industry experts.  

President and Chief Executive Officer of Sagicor Group Jamaica, Christopher Zacca, emphasised the importance of sustained investment in youth innovation.

“This competition continues to demonstrate the incredible depth of talent and creativity among Jamaica’s young people. At Sagicor, we are intentional about creating opportunities that allow ideas to move from concept to real-world solutions that can transform industries and communities,” he said.

The Sagicor Innovation Lab was established at UTech, Ja in 2019 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sagicor Group Jamaica. Zacca noted that Sagicor has invested more than JMD $125 million in the Sagicor–Utech, Ja Innovation Lab over the past six years and continues to commit approximately JMD $25 million annually to support innovation, mentorship and research.

President of the University of Technology, Jamaica, Dr. Kevin Brown, also commended the students and the long-standing partnership. He said, “The Sagicor–UTech, Ja Innovation Challenge highlights the exceptional entrepreneurial drive of UTech students and their ability to develop innovative technological solutions for real-world application that will contribute to national development and economic growth.” He also commended Mr. Ray-St Michael Williams, Director, Sagicor Innovation Lab, for actively engaging students in developing innovative solutions.

This year’s cohort delivered solutions reflecting both technical strength and a clear understanding of local and regional needs.

Second-place team SurPath developed a climate risk intelligence platform that enables institutions to assess exposure across Jamaica’s 14 parishes using real hazard data, while also empowering individuals to better understand and prepare for climate risks.

Third-place finisher Nexus Innovation introduced an AI-powered insurance claims platform that streamlines document analysis, improves accuracy and speeds up claim processing across multiple insurance lines.

Also among the standout entries was Campus Cart, a secure, student-only digital marketplace designed to facilitate safer buying and selling within university communities.

The other teams in this year’s final were Team Syntropy, Team Innogrid, Y Combinators, Walkway+ by Denzil Thompson, Techtora Softworks and Team Lunar Labs, all comprised of students from the University of Technology, Jamaica.

The Sagicor–UTech Innovation Challenge continues to grow as a cornerstone initiative, reinforcing Sagicor’s commitment to nurturing talent and excelling with impact, while demonstrating the power of collaboration in driving meaningful change.