These Techstars Alumni Just Launched The Caribbean Venture Collective

The Caribbean Venture Collective (CVC) is a new initiative aiming to close the longstanding gap in venture support for founders with ties to the Caribbean.

Launched last week by Techstars alumni Daniel Smith and Mita Carriman, the CVC is a global network and founder fellowship program designed to increase visibility and access to capital for the region’s innovators.

Venture support for Caribbean founders

Trinidad-born Smith is the founder of Keepingly, a platform that helps homeowners manage and store homeownership documents. Carriman, born in New York to parents from Jamaica and Grenada, is the founder of Adventurely, a marketplace for coworking day passes. The pair met during Techstars Detroit accelerator in fall 2024 and connected over their shared Caribbean heritage and experience as founders.

“For too long, Caribbean entrepreneurs with world-changing ideas have struggled to break through—not because they lacked vision, but because they lacked venture-backed support,” said Smith.

“As a Caribbean-American founder, I always felt there was an opportunity to leverage the collective power of the diaspora to fuel a new wave of innovation,”Carriman added. “Caribbean Venture Collective hopes to unite our global strength into tangible opportunities for founders.”

A Global Diaspora Meets Regional Opportunity  

The Caribbean comprises more than 30 countries and territories, with a combined population of over 40 million. Its global diaspora includes more than 8.5 million people in the United States alone. Despite this reach, founders from the region remain significantly underrepresented in the global startup ecosystem.

CVC sees an opportunity not only in the diaspora but also in the region’s growing economic influence. With an annual consumer spend of $117 billion and $5.4 billion in yearly diaspora remittances, the Caribbean offers fertile ground for innovation. CVC aims to bring more founders into the fold.

CVC will support two main groups: founders of Caribbean descent within the global diaspora and founders of any background who are building in key sectors that align with the Caribbean’s future. The collective will focus on eight key sectors shaping the region’s future: travel and hospitality tech, logistics and supply chain, proptech, agritech, climate tech, fintech, healthtech, and edtech.

Founder Fellowship and Demo Day

CVC’s first major initiative is its Founder Fellowship, an equity-free program that supports 12 early-stage founders each year. Fellows receive mentorship, strategic guidance, access to industry connections, and a chance to pitch to investors and partners aligned with the collective’s mission at CVC’s annual Demo Day.

Applications for the inaugural fellowship are open through June 16, 2025. In addition to recruiting founders, CVC is also calling on mentors, investors, and allies to join the movement and help shape the future of Caribbean innovation.

Image: Caribbean Venture Collective