The Anguilla Chamber of Commerce & Industry will host the fourth annual Small Business Capital Readiness Pitch Night on Thursday, May 22 at the Hansa Bank conference centre. Six pre-screened ACOCI member businesses will present investment-ready pitches to a panel of regional capital providers, competing for a share of $25,000 in funding contributed by the chamber’s sponsors.
The funding is structured as zero-interest, milestone-tied capital rather than equity — the kind of bridge financing that’s notoriously hard to secure for small operators on the island. “Banks want collateral, equity investors want scale we don’t have yet,” says Damian Richardson, who chairs the Chamber’s capital readiness working group. “Pitch Night is for the in-between — the businesses that have proven the model and just need runway to grow it.”
What’s changed this year
The 2026 cohort has been narrowed from twelve applicants to six, following two months of advisory sessions with the chamber’s business advisors. Three of the six are returning from previous cohorts — not as repeat applicants, but as businesses that previously won and have hit their stage-one milestones. They’ll pitch for stage-two extension funding alongside the new entrants.
The investor panel has also expanded. In addition to the chamber’s longstanding partners at Caribbean Commercial Bank and the Anguilla Development Board, this year’s panel includes representatives from the OECS Business Council and a discretionary observer from the regional Caribbean Development Bank. The full panel and judging criteria are published here.
Why it matters for ACOCI members
Pitch Night is one of the few moments in the chamber’s calendar where the gap between policy work and operator outcomes closes completely. The funding is real, the feedback is on-the-record, and the businesses pitching are the same operators who sit on ACOCI’s committees and respond to its consultations the rest of the year.
Members who aren’t pitching are encouraged to attend. The format includes a 30-minute networking reception before the pitches begin, and a debrief panel afterwards where the investors discuss what separated the strongest applications from the rest — the kind of inside read that’s usually only available to people already in the room.
How to attend
Registration is free for ACOCI members and $35 for non-members. The event runs 5:30–8:30 PM. Members can register through the chamber portal; non-members can register at the door pending capacity. If your business is interested in being considered for the 2027 cohort, the chamber’s business advisors will be taking expressions of interest at the post-event reception.
