INNOVATION MEETS CULTURE AT BOSTON’S FIRST CARIBBEAN TECH SHOWCASE ON SEPTEMBER 11

The Innovation Night Will Elevate Caribbean-Led Startups and Foster Global Collaboration in Fintech, Healthtech, and More.

CAMBRIDGE, MA, UNITED STATES, September 2, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On Thursday, September 11, 2025, the inaugural Caribbean Tech Showcase & Cross-Border Innovation Night will launch at CIC Venture Café Cambridge, spotlighting the creativity and economic power of Caribbean and Caribbean American entrepreneurs on an international stage.

The event is officially recognized as a side event of Startup Boston Week 2025 (September 8–12). This is New England’s largest startup gathering, which convenes over 7,000 founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders for 100+ sessions, workshops, and networking events at Suffolk University in downtown Boston. By aligning with Startup Boston Week, the Caribbean Tech Showcase ensures maximum visibility, cross-pollination, and collaboration across Greater Boston’s powerful innovation ecosystem.

Co-organized by Sheila Phicil (Phicil-itate Change) and Clifford Reginald Nau (Kuratek), two local tech founders based out of the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), the evening is presented by Venture Café and is the first-of-its-kind Innovation Night featuring startup pitches, demos, panel conversations, and a Caribbean-inspired connection collider networking reception.

“As a founder myself and someone deeply rooted in both greater Boston and the Caribbean community, I see this showcase as an opportunity to bridge ecosystems,” said Clifford Reginald Nau, co-organizer and founder of Kuratek. “It’s about opening new doors for collaboration, investment, and innovation across borders.”

The Caribbean community in Greater Boston is a vibrant and economically influential demographic, yet remains underrepresented in the tech and startup landscape. The Caribbean Tech Showcase aims to change that by elevating ventures led by Caribbean founders, both in the U.S. and abroad, while creating new entry points for cross-cultural engagement and capital flow.

Panels and featured conversations will spotlight the untapped potential of Caribbean markets, showcase the impact of Caribbean leaders in U.S. tech sectors, and explore emerging investment opportunities across sectors. A Caribbean-inspired “connection collider” will facilitate high-impact networking among founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders.

While the event celebrates innovation across the Caribbean diaspora, this inaugural gathering places a special spotlight on Haitian innovators, whose leadership in tech, entrepreneurship, and policy has helped shape the program and its purpose.

“In a time when people are being targeted for their identity or immigrant status, I want to create a space that uplifts the powerful, positive images of immigrants and children of immigrants building tech companies and creating jobs," said Sheila Phicil, co-organizer and founder of Phicil-itate Change. "We’re part of what makes America beautiful. With AI lowering the barrier to entry, it’s time to spotlight the creativity and innovation coming out of Caribbean diaspora communities like mine, as a first-generation Haitian-American tech founder.”

The vision for the showcase was ignited during a networking mixer held on June 25, 2025, at the newly opened Toussaint Louverture Cultural Center in the West End community of Boston. Hosted during Caribbean Heritage Month, the event brought together investors, entrepreneurs, and institutional leaders to begin shaping the ecosystem connections that the September showcase will further amplify.

The Caribbean Tech Showcase will feature two distinguished Haitian-American leaders whose work bridges innovation, impact, and global reach. Lawrence Petit-Frere, PharmD/MBA and Founder of Kastor Capital, has held senior regulatory roles at Biogen, Johnson & Johnson, and Takeda. He now invests in early-stage biotech startups as an MIT Sloan Fellow. Marc Antoine, Senior Partner at Phoenix Capital Solutions has led global humanitarian efforts and is a recognized voice at the intersection of faith, diaspora leadership, and venture capital.

This event is made possible by sponsors including Venture Café Cambridge (presenting sponsor), Hinckley Allen (community sponsor), Nzuko (Caribbean cuisine sponsor), and In-Tune (creative storytelling sponsor). Additional sponsorship and in-kind support opportunities are available to organizations wishing to support food, entertainment, and cultural activations.

“Caribbean Innovation Night is an incredible opportunity to showcase the best of the Caribbean right here in Cambridge,” said Tricia Bitetto Program Manager of Venture Café. “With Sheila and Clifford at the helm, they are a driving force in organizing conversations about U.S.–Caribbean collaboration and innovation. We’re delighted to champion their mission at Venture Café Cambridge.”

The Caribbean Tech Showcase & Cross-Border Innovation Night marks the beginning of a powerful new tradition that celebrates cultural identity while unlocking economic opportunity. By bringing together investors, founders, and ecosystem stakeholders across borders, the event aims to foster lasting impact and systemic change in how innovation communities are built.

Registration for the event is free, open to the public and available at https://venturecafecambridge.org/event/carribbean-innovation-night/. For sponsorships, media inquiries, or partnership opportunities, please contact hello@phicil-itatechange.com or info@kuratek.com

ABOUT SHEILA PHICIL:
Sheila Phicil, a first-generation Haitian-American, is the founder of Phicil-itate Change, a health tech innovation studio that incubates radically patient-centered solutions for biopharma, startups, accelerators, and health systems. Using its proprietary SEEDS Innovation Framework and Listen Phirst™ a patient insights platform, the studio helps early-stage innovations accelerate time to product-system fit by translating patient voice into actionable insights that shape design, adoption, and scale. A former hospital innovation leader and longtime health equity strategist, Sheila brings nearly two decades of experience building transformative models at the intersection of health systems change, technology, and community voice.

ABOUT CLIFFORD REGINALD NAU:
Clifford Reginald Nau, a Haiti-born tech founder, is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Kuratek (Kura Technologies), a fintech startup tackling challenges in cross-border payments and financial inclusion for Caribbean merchants and aid recipients. A former director of a tech incubator in Haiti, Alpha Haiti, Clifford has also served as a public policy professor and advisor to governments and international organizations. His work sits at the intersection of fintech, policy, and diaspora development, with a focus on scalable solutions for emerging markets.

Sheila Phicil
Phicil-itate Change
hello@phicil-itatechange.com

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