STEM Spark Solutions is a Jamaican engineering and sustainability consultancy developing SPARK, a community disaster communication and energy resilience platform. The project is designed to help Caribbean communities maintain access to power, communication and emergency information when electricity grids and telecommunications networks are disrupted. It also responds to the need for governments, emergency agencies and humanitarian organisations to receive timely, location-specific information that can guide disaster response.

SPARK combines a resident mobile application, a web-based situational awareness dashboard and an administrative management portal with solar-powered energy hubs. The hubs are designed to provide more than 48 hours of backup power and charge 20 to 30 devices at a time. Satellite, SMS and WhatsApp channels are integrated to support communication across different connectivity conditions. An in-house artificial intelligence engine is designed to classify resident hazard reports in real time, display them on a live map and generate hourly incident reports for response agencies. The company states that ownership of the classification engine has been formalised through a signed Intellectual Property Assignment Agreement.

The application, dashboard and administrative portal are complete, while the first pilot is scheduled for Westmoreland, Jamaica, where a community anchor site has been identified. STEM Spark Solutions has also begun engagement with Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management. The target market includes national and local disaster management agencies, governments and humanitarian organisations. The company proposes an annual territory-based pricing model and aims to expand into five CARICOM territories by Year 3, within a longer-term objective of reaching at least eight territories over five years.

STEM Spark Solutions is seeking USD 12.5 million through equity investment and strategic partnerships. The investment would support a national rollout of 50 solar and connectivity hubs in Jamaica, completion of pilot and deployment activities, and regional expansion. The company projects annual revenue of more than USD 3.5 million by Year 5, subject to successful rollout and market adoption.

SPARK has the potential to strengthen community-level disaster preparedness, improve the flow of information during emergencies and support more coordinated response efforts. Its use of solar-powered hubs may also reduce reliance on diesel generators while contributing to climate resilience, digital transformation and regional disaster-response capacity.