The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is looking for participants in the thirteenth edition of the innovative Demand Solutions challenge, which will be based in Chile during the month of November. The call is open to startups developing the technology industry, including blockchain, interested in "improving lives" with scalable, creative and cultural solutions.

The Idear Soluciones (Demand Solutions) competition will award the $ 25,000 metallic prize to the startup that presents the most successful creative solution, among the "most disruptive" , to face the challenges of development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Those projects that develop solutions with vanguard technologies will be taken into account, so startups focused on blockchain, robotics and 3D printing solutions can be postulated.

The category of New Technologies includes non-limiting startups focused on block chains, BIoT technology , which combines the blockchain and the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. However, all projects must have a proven viable minimum solution or product, not just an idea.

Also, among the requirements of the application is that they must have at least one year as a startup and less than three years of operations and be legally registered in one of the 26 countries that are part of the Inter-American Development Bank. These startups must have a business model, because non-profit initiatives have no place in Idear Soluciones, according to their terms and conditions.

The competition will take place on November 21 in Santiago de Chile , an opportunity in which 10 selected projects will compete in a round of Pitch Competition , where they will present their solution to investors, actors of the entrepreneur ecosystem and general assistants of the Idear Soluciones .

The application is open until July 15 through the YouNoodle platform , and to do so entrepreneurs must make an elevator pitch , which is a two-minute speech thought as if you would find the perfect investor for your project in an elevator, and those two minutes are the only ones that you have to convince him to invest in your project, in addition the participants must consign two letters of recommendation.

This initiative takes place at the same time as the National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES) initiated a Fintech challenge in Brazil that seeks innovative ideas to modernize the processes of micro, small and medium enterprises.

Although the IDB initiative is not only focused on technology, the inclusion of the blockchain within the possible solutions to Latin American and Caribbean problems shows progress in the development and technological construction of the continent.