Digital and creative training outfit iCreate is expanding into the real estate business through a joint venture partnership with an unnamed entity.

The joint venture arrangement is being done through iCreate’s second division called, Opportunity Ventures, which was established for acquiring business venture opportunities aligned with building the digital and creative economy. The first division to be formed was iCreate Institute for digital and creative training.

Under Opportunity Ventures, Tyrone Wilson, founder, president and chief executive officer, disclosed that “iCreate is currently venturing into real estate under a joint venture agreement”.

Wilson said the company has already acquired a property in the New Kingston area that will form its first creative city real estate development.

Wilson declared that this would be a six-storey development and promised to reveal the unnamed business partner at a later date.  

The iCreate boss stated that “several investors are interested in this commercial real estate project and there is also an ongoing conversation to start a new project in Montego Bay”.

This six-storey, billion dollar building will be a mixed-use space that comprises of iCreate campus (one floor), offices, co-working space, Gjam live music studio, Reggae Sunsplash museum and some penthouse suites to service the music studio and museum.

Acquisition of eCommerce company

Wilson announced that iCreate is far advanced in acquiring eCommerce outfit Mobile Edge. This acquisition will be confirmed at the end of the first quarter of 2021 with the submission of the final funding at the end of the second quarter of 2021 for what the company is rolling out to be a creative city.

These recent developments have assisted with positioning iCreate to a more digital future that is ahead.

iCreate, on its successful listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, Junior Market, built partnerships and is expanding its markets in order to position itself as the premier digital and creative training institute in the Caribbean.

This translated into iCreate recording its first net profit of $1.25 million at the end of  the first quarter of 2020, while recovering from a net loss of $45.95 million booked at the end of 2019. However, recent financial reports show that iCreate suffered a net loss of $2.26 million as at September 30, 2020.

Company maintaining its 2019 business strategies

Nonetheless, the company’s strategies in 2019 remain unchanged and are as follows:

• Focus: Increase students per course, increase locations and drive profitability
• Product: Creative and Digital more than 20 course
• Disciplined focus on profitable market share expansion
• Leadership: Core leadership team with business development and financial leadership

In 2020, iCreate was given the opportunity to host live events by its parent company, eMedia. The company hosted Reggae Sunsplash music festival with over 330,000 viewers. However, thoughj the festival broke even, iCreate didn’t make a profit.