I TECH captures top honours as Innovation Challenge 2026 expands with inaugural Junior Category.

The sixth edition of the Innovation Challenge concluded on Sunday, September 6, 2026,  after three days of coding, creativity and competition, with ‘I TECH’ emerging as the Senior Category champion out of 14 registered teams, while MATT Solutions secured the top prize in the inaugural Junior Category. The premier coding competition is an annual initiative of the Office of the Prime Minister, through its Industry and Innovation Unit. The collaboration continues for the fourth year with SBM Offshore Guyana under the continuing theme, ‘Transitioning through Innovation’.

With a refreshed approach, the 2026 competition offered a structured format featuring mentor engagements, development checkpoints, research, design thinking, rapid prototyping, user testing and final presentations. For the first time in the programme’s history, a Junior Category was created for innovators aged 16 to 21, allowing younger participants to apply technology to a national development challenge and gain practical experience in collaboration and solution-building.

The closing ceremony saw I TECH securing first place and receiving a cash prize of GYD $1,500,000; LUDGE TECH placed second and received GYD $800,000, while G STACK placed third and received GYD $550,000. In the Junior Category, MATT Solutions secured first place and received GYD $500,000, while Code Lunima and Mars placed second and third, respectively, and received consolation prizes courtesy of SBM Offshore Guyana.