The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) wants start-ups in its incubator programme to begin using artificial intelligence (AI) to design prototypes, which could improve their branding, product, and spaces.
“The TEF is contemplating the creation of an AI Prototype Development Training Programme for participants in the Tourism Innovation Incubator Challenge,” the agency said in a request for information issued last week.
It’s part of a broader push to give founders more control over their own product development. As a first step, the TEF wants to determine the feasibility by hiring a consultant to design a training programme.
The initiative responds to a gap identified by the fund: in previous cohorts, digital prototypes were largely developed on behalf of participants, with innovators contributing to the conceptual direction but having limited involvement in the actual build.
“This approach restricted participants’ ability to independently modify, refine, and expand their prototypes as their business ideas evolved, limiting both adaptability and long-term usability,” according to the RFI document.
The AI training would provide 15 to 30 participants with instruction in digital prototyping, design principles and AI prompting, to enable them to independently create digital prototypes “as well as refine and adapt them as their ideas evolve beyond the programme”.
Since its September 2022 launch, the incubator programme has completed two cohorts, with 30 entrepreneurs finishing equipped with digital prototypes, business plans and entrepreneurial skills.
The AI training is envisioned to follow a 12-week business development boot camp. “The participants, upon completing the 12 weeks of boot camp in business development, will be guided by the boot camp facilitators, and to determine the most appropriate prototype design for their business. Following that, training in artificial intelligence for prototyping will commence, guided by the facilitator,” the RFI stated.
Participants, ranging from advanced technology professionals to those with basic technical proficiency, will explore various digital prototyping models to determine the approach most suited to their concepts.
The scope of work includes developing training materials, delivering group and one-on-one sessions, facilitating practical prototype-development exercises using AI-enabled tools, providing mentorship and submitting a final report outlining activities and participant outcomes.
The fund is seeking a facilitator with at least two years of demonstrated experience using AI-enabled tools for digital prototyping, proven experience delivering at least five hands-on training programmes with measurable learning outcomes, and an understanding of user-interface and design-thinking principles. The facilitator will also be required to “oversee the development of these prototypes and refine the final product, if not to standard”, according to the document.
Responses to the RFI are due by August 11. The Tourism Enhancement Fund, established in 2005 under the Tourism Enhancement Act, is tasked with encouraging tourism innovation and expansion through resource mobilisation. The Tourism Innovation Incubator was launched in response to the Ministry of Tourism’s Blue Ocean Strategy objective to increase the rate of innovation in the tourism sector.
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