On Tuesday, a groundbreaking climate solution that turns two regional environmental challenges into a source of energy took home the top honor at the 2026 Climate Smart Summit Investor Forum pitch competition, held in Bridgetown, Barbados. Dr. Legena Henry, a Trinidadian-born mechanical engineer and renewable energy lecturer at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, claimed the $5,000 grand prize for her Barbados-founded startup Rum and Sargassum Incorporated.
Six climate-focused founders from across the Caribbean competed in the event, each allocated seven minutes to present their ventures to a panel of five judges drawn from leading regional and international financial institutions. Second place and a $2,500 award went to Dr. Judlyn Telesford-Checkley of Grenada-based GrenadaGrows, while Jamaica’s Teka Smith of Cristeek Gold rounded out the top three, taking home $1,500.
Henry’s enterprise is a climate infrastructure firm built on an innovative circular model: it converts invasive sargassum seaweed—an increasingly devastating threat to Caribbean coastlines—and wastewater from local rum distilleries into usable renewable natural gas. The project traces its origins back to 2019, when Henry gathered a group of students to explore pathways for Barbados to decarbonize its transportation sector, a gap she noticed remained underaddressed in regional climate transition planning.
“As a mechanical engineer with three degrees in the field, I realized there was very little conversation around how the transportation sector would actually transition away from fossil fuels here,” Henry explained during her pitch. “I gathered students to explore what a fossil-free transport future for Barbados could look like, and that’s how this project was born.”
For Henry, the project addresses far more than just the environmental crisis of sargassum blooms. Massive annual sargassum influxes choke coastal marine ecosystems, destroy coral habitats, drive away tourists that form the backbone of many Caribbean economies, and release toxic fumes as the seaweed decomposes on shorelines. Beyond solving this ecological threat, Henry argues that homegrown solutions like hers are critical to building long-term energy security for Caribbean nations, which remain overwhelmingly dependent on imported fossil fuels.
Against a backdrop of global energy market volatility driven by geopolitical conflict and rising fuel prices, Henry emphasized that regional self-reliance is non-negotiable. “When you look at tensions in key energy chokepoints like the Straits of Hormuz and the ongoing global energy uncertainty, we simply cannot rely on imported energy forever,” she said. “We need to develop our own local energy products here in the Caribbean. No one is going to solve our energy challenges for us. Right now, we’re seeing countries face water shortages and blackouts directly tied to global conflicts in the oil and gas sector. Even plastic prices are climbing, because the entire industry is linked to fossil fuels.”
Early progress for the startup has already been supported by key backers, starting with seed backing from the Inter-American Development Bank, followed by a $100,000 investment from an angel investor secured after Henry presented the project at a United Nations climate event. The $5,000 grand prize from the Bridgetown competition will go toward completing the company’s first pilot natural gas station project in Barbados, which is already 85% finished.
The pitch competition is a core component of the inaugural Climate Smart Summit, which is being held in Bridgetown from June 16 to 17. The summit brings together policymakers, investors, and innovators for high-level dialogue, investment matchmaking, and cross-regional collaboration all aimed at scaling up climate-smart solutions across the Caribbean.
On the opening day of the summit, Racquel Moses, CEO of the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator, announced a bold new commitment to support regional climate founders: the organization is working to mobilize $11.5 million in total capital for participating entrepreneurs, and will publicly track and report on progress and outcomes over the next 18 months, creating greater transparency and accountability for climate investment in the region.
