The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT), the largest provider of telecommunication services in Guyana, and the Guyana Economic Development Trust (GEDT), a U.S. and Guyana-based philanthropic initiative that supports science and technology startups, are pleased to announce the exclusive collaboration on the signature programme, the Guyana Innovation Prize.
Since 2018, the Guyana Innovation Prize has been awarded to standout innovators in Guyana who have developed breakthroughs in agricultural and food-based science and technology.
“This collaboration makes sense to us because, as an organisation, we stand behind what true innovation can do in society and in the daily lives of people,” says Orson Ferguson, Chief Marketing Officer of GTT.
“As a leading corporation in Guyana, we believe in blazing trails to benefit Guyanese. And we believe strongly in our corporate social responsibility, or CSR, which is about serving our communities outside and in support of our core function of telecommunications. This initiative fits exceptionally well with our mandate to innovate our services and to be the leading brand behind scientific and technological innovation in Guyana, for and by Guyanese. GTT is proud to be the programme’s exclusive sponsor,” he went on to say.
The Guyana Innovation Prize was established to support Guyana’s researchers, thinkers and doers. The Prize is a competitive grant that is awarded annually to some of the most commercially viable ideas in the country.
To date, the programme’s creator, GEDT, has presented the Innovation Prize, a grant, to faculty and alumni of the University of Guyana. However, the programme is open to all Guyanese. “We look forward to joining GTT in announcing the awardees for 2021. We feel strongly that ‘innovation’ is not the exclusive domain of any one group; it does happen outside of the hallowed halls of international universities. Scientific and technological innovation happens in rural and farming communities, by students and the more mature–essentially anyone seeking to solve problems in society.” said Oslene Carrington, CEO of GEDT.
“As Guyanese, we can and should feel proud of our local innovators. They are a source of inspiration and pride, and we want to reward them. We’re thrilled to be able to do so in partnership with GTT,” said Carrington. Learn more about the Guyana Innovation Prize at www.theguyanatrust.org.
