Caribbean Embraces AI Talent Through Data Science Hackathon Focused on Speech Recognition Breakthrough

The Artificial Intelligence Innovation Centre (AIIC) and Zindi—a leading platform connecting data scientists with real-world challenges—just wrapped up a landmark competition that highlights the Caribbean region’s growing prowess in AI development. Held in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, the event showcased how emerging markets can drive innovation by tackling locally-relevant problems through machine learning expertise.

Solving the Caribbean Speech Recognition Gap

The core challenge was deceptively simple yet profoundly impactful: existing voice AI systems struggle with Caribbean accents. This limitation restricts access to voice assistants, transcription tools, and automated customer support across the region. To bridge this gap, over 40 competing teams trained machine learning models using a specially-curated dataset of 28,000 manually transcribed audio clips sourced from BBC Caribbean.

Participants competed to build Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems that could accurately convert Caribbean speech into text—a technical feat that’s increasingly critical as voice technology reshapes global industries. The hackathon’s data science focus attracted talent from across the region, reflecting momentum in Caribbean tech communities that’s difficult to ignore.

From Competition to Real-World Impact

The top 10 finalists advanced to a pitch stage where they demonstrated how improved speech recognition could unlock value in sectors including education, financial services, agriculture, and digital communication. By bringing Zindi’s global competition infrastructure to a regional problem, the hackathon unified Caribbean technologists around a shared mission: building AI solutions tailored to local contexts.

A particularly powerful element of the initiative: AIIC plans to open-source the winning ASR models, enabling the broader Caribbean developer community to continue building on this foundation. This commitment to knowledge-sharing amplifies the hackathon’s impact far beyond the competition itself.

Why This Moment Matters for Caribbean Tech

Craig Ramlal, Executive Director of AIIC, framed the significance clearly: “This represents a pivotal moment for artificial intelligence in the Caribbean. By combining Zindi’s global platform with our regional leadership, we tapped into a broader community and applied AI to a challenge that directly impacts how Caribbean people benefit from technology.”

Celina Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of Zindi, emphasized the broader opportunity: “There is exceptional AI talent across the Caribbean. Our mission is providing the platform, data, and pathways that allow this talent to deliver solutions rooted in local realities yet relevant globally.”

The hackathon was supported by strategic partners including CIBC, Infolytics, and Data Axis—each bringing domain expertise that enriched the competition environment.

Zindi’s Expanding Role Beyond Africa

The Caribbean initiative signals Zindi’s evolution into a truly global platform for data science innovation. The platform now serves over 90,000 data scientists and AI practitioners spanning 180+ countries, with competitions addressing challenges across agriculture, health, climate, energy, and financial inclusion. This hackathon demonstrates how that infrastructure can be deployed to unlock regional AI ecosystems.

AIIC: Caribbean’s Hub for AI Advancement

Operating from The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, AIIC has positioned itself as the region’s center for AI research and commercialization. The organization coordinates work across 20+ partner institutions, supports 50+ members, and manages 35+ active projects spanning robotics, cybersecurity, sustainability, climate resilience, and digital innovation.

The speech recognition hackathon exemplifies AIIC’s mission: channeling Caribbean talent and data into solutions that strengthen regional capacity while advancing global AI progress.