From Challenge to Creation: Building a Health Innovation Ecosystem in the Caribbean

In one of our early collaborations with the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, two physicians stood at the front of a classroom mapping out the Barbados’ health system to a group of students.

The two physicians were not there to lecture about technology or entrepreneurship. Instead, they walked a group of young innovators through something more fundamental: how care actually flows through our country. Where patients get stuck. Where data disappears. Where shortages quietly shape outcomes.

The conversation moved between public clinics and private practices, between long waiting lists and overextended teams. It was less about potential solutions and more about problem statements and systems literacy. Understanding that health innovation carries responsibilities that extend far beyond code.

For many in the room, it was the first time they were able to be fully exposed to the healthcare sector.

That moment captured exactly why FutureHEALTH exists.

Why FutureHEALTH

Across the Caribbean, and certainly here in Barbados, we face mounting pressure from non-communicable diseases, fragmented health information systems, and climate-related health risks. At the same time, our systems are constrained by prolonged wait times, limited access to specialised care, and chronic workforce shortages. Digital transformation is widely recognised as necessary, yet the infrastructure to build and test local solutions has historically been lacking. For years, we have imported technologies designed elsewhere and tried to make them fit our realities. Too often, they do not.

What we have lacked is a formal pipeline to turn our own healthcare challenges into our own high-tech solutions.

FutureHEALTH was created to change that.

The Beginning of FutureHEALTH

Launched on June 3, 2025, the initiative is co-funded by IDB Lab, the innovation and venture capital arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, and FutureBARBADOS through the Ministry of Innovation, Industry, Science and Technology. FutureHEALTH’s goal is simple but ambitious: reshape how health innovation happens, develop the health tech capability in and build an ecosystem that can serve the wider Caribbean and scale to the Global South.

We operate on three interconnected pillars.

FutureHEALTH Communities.

Innovation starts with people, not platforms. We focus on building networks of clinicians, technologists, researchers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs who can collaborate across disciplines and sectors. Our aim is to bridge gaps, create connections and share knowledge via university programs, panel discussions, public events and educational content. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background, is equipped with tools and knowledge to not only embrace health technology but to champion it.

Innovation starts with people, not platforms.

FutureHEALTH Incubator.

Entrepreneurs are at the heart of FutureHEALTH. We work with ideators, innovators and entrepreneurs to trans- form promising healthcare ideas into solutions via three tracks: from ideation to refining MVPs to piloting. It provides entrepreneurs with mentorship, tools, and structured support needed to turn bold ideas into viable, impactful ventures that solve real-world problems in health.

FutureHEALTH Engine.

Our goal is to create an enabling environment that empowers bold thinkers and risk-takers. We are building an ecosystem that doesn’t just respond to change, but helps drive it. Through our work, we collaborate alongside key stakeholders, industry leaders, and policymakers, using data-driven insights and research to advocate for smart policy changes that contribute to a more robust and transformative healthcare system.

Together, these pillars are designed to create a self-sustaining environment to foster health innovation and the development of more health tech solutions in the Caribbean.

Shaping the Talent Pipeline – Health Tech Fellows Program

As we work towards building the talent pipeline in the Caribbean, it’s been important for us to also look into knowledge transfer. This core principle was how the Health Tech Fellows Program was created with a pilot in summer 2025. This summer placed four talented students and recent graduates from the University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus into immersive international placements. Fellows were encouraged to experience and critically assess what works in advanced markets and to explore how those approaches can be adapted to Caribbean health systems, which operate under different resource constraints, disease burdens, regulatory environments, and cultural contexts.

The four inaugural fellows are featured below:

Daemon Dawson

Daemon Dawson is a Barbadian second-year medical student (MBBS Class of 2029) with a BSc in Chemistry and a minor in Biochemistry. His interests lie in merging health technology with patient care, particularly for non-communicable diseases in Barbados and the wider Caribbean. Daemon was placed at Wanda Health in Bristol, United Kingdom, an organisation with a mission to revolutionize patient care and empower individuals to take control of their health journeys. The company created a Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) solution that integrates patient-generated health data and automated adherence features.

Tarika Birch

Tarika Birch recently completed her BSc in Computer Science with Management achieving First Class Honors at the UWI Cave Hill Campus. Her goal is to create a meaningful impact, contributing to the Caribbean and making life at least a little better for as many people as possible. Tarika was placed at FluoretiQ in Bristol, United Kingdom, an organisation that is pioneering a rapid diagnostic platform for bacteria identification which will ensure that patients receive the best anti-biotic treatment from day one. For patients, this means faster recovery times and for healthcare providers, this means significant cost savings.

Jahniqua Esdaille

Jahniqua Esdaille recently completed her BSc in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus. Passionate about ethical technology, she is deeply invested in understanding how technology impacts women and gendered minorities in the Caribbean. Jahniqua was placed at NeuroVirt, in London, United Kingdom at an organisation that harnesses the power of Extended Reality (Virtual & Augmented) to gamify and quantify motion rehabilitation and recovery. The company offers higher quality movement rehabilitation through Al-powered games and detailed assessments.

Jaliea Lovell

Jaliea Lovell, recently completed her BSc in Chemistry with Biology at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. Her key areas of interest include bioengineering, translational medicine, and, more recently, immunology. Jaliea was placed at BioMed X Institute in Heidelberg, Germany, an independent research institute solving the biggest challenges in biomedical research and drug discovery and development. Jaliea was placed with Team NST, which was working on identifying novel therapeutic vulnerabilities in neutrophils to target therapy-resistant neutrophil-high tumor microenvironment states for direct tumor killing.

Empowering the innovators of tomorrow

Barbados currently spends tens of millions of dollars each year managing cardiovascular disease and diabetes alone, with the broader economic cost of non-communicable diseases reaching into the hundreds of millions. These pressures are felt not only in our budgets, but in our families, our productivity, and the long-term resilience of our health system.

That is one of the reasons why health innovation is not optional for the Caribbean. It is essential.

FutureHEALTH exists to empower the innovators of tomorrow to build solutions that reduce wait times, strengthen care coordination, and help citizens better manage their health, while also creating new industries and meaningful opportunities for Caribbean talent.

The future of Caribbean healthcare should not be something we wait for. It should be something we create.

In January 2026, we launched Track 1 of the FutureHEALTH Incubator with our first cohort of 30 participants, made up of both individuals and teams. The cohort reflected the regional nature of our mission, with innovators based in Barbados as well as Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Jamaica, and Suriname.

Track 2 launched in March 2026 supporting entrerpeneurs to develop minimum viable products. We continue building this pipeline; Track 3 is scheduled to begin piloting in real-world health settings later in 2026.

Looking ahead, FutureHEALTH will remain open to innovators across Caribbean islands, as well as members of the Caribbean diaspora living abroad who want to build for the Caribbean market.

Because the future of Caribbean healthcare should not be something we wait for. It should be something we create.

FutureHEALTH Incubator Track 1 Kick-off event (L-R) Mr. Dale Trotman, Dr. Carl Ward, Dr. Kia Lewis FutureHEALTH Community Activator and Moderator for Health Overview Panel, Mr. Robert Carter and Dr. Rashida Daisley

Calling Caribbean Innovators, Mentors, and Investors

If you believe the Caribbean can move from importing solutions to creating them, we invite you to join us on this journey. Whether you are an innovator with a health or health tech concept, a founder ready to develop an MVP through our Incubator Tracks, or a healthcare professional with frontline insight, there is a place for you in this movement.

We are also actively welcoming members of the Caribbean diaspora who want to give back through mentorship, technical support, clinical guidance, or strategic advisory. Your expertise can help accelerate the next generation of Caribbean builders.

And for those looking to invest in meaningful impact, we welcome angel investors and partners who share our vision of strengthening health systems while building new industries across the region. The future of Caribbean healthcare will not be built by one organisation alone. It will be built through collaboration, shared purpose, and bold action. We would be honoured to build it with you.

Connect with us today

Email: futurehealth@possibilities.agency

Instagram: @futurehealthbb

LinkedIn: FutureHEALTH