The JMMB Group hosted a mingle yesterday (November 9) to celebrate the one-year anniversary launch of its (small and medium-sized enterprises) SME Accelerator programme, awarding three small business enterprises with a total of JMD 1 million.

Started as a small business itself 30 years ago, the financial institution said they saw it fit to give back to SMEs, providing them with guidance and support through its many workshops.

The Accelerator programme is offered in collaboration with the Technology Innovation Centre (TIC) under the Joan Duncan School of Ethics, Entrepreneurship and Leadership at University of Technology, (Jamaica).

Shani Duncan-Falconer, senior corporate manager of the JMMB Group SME Resource Centre noted that starting and running a successful business puts a strain on personal lives and relationships.

But, she is happy to see that the SMEs have persevered.

“It has been a tremendous pleasure to walk their path with you, and to watch as you bloom from implementing the strategies and feedback shared during the monthly workshops and coaching sessions,” said Duncan-Falconer.

She further encouraged participants to put the knowledge they have received to use as they continue to grow their businesses, and noted JMMB would be there with them every step of the way.

Kim Mair, chief executive officer of the Joan Duncan Foundation, said the foundation was delighted to be a part of the programme.

“For entrepreneurship our investment has been in the venture competitions and so this was another step in getting involved. Because we just don’t want to win the winners, we want to see the businesses evolve so that we can have compliment from those businesses,” said Mair.

Acceleraties were asked to pitch their business proposal in 10 minutes to a panel of judges.

The pitch included their business’ vision and mission, problem in the market they were solving, how the funds would be used.

First place and the award of $500,000 went to Gary Harris, founder of Water Drops Limited.

Water Drops is a water refill company in Mandeville that supplies purified drinking water and drinking water accessories, including water pumps and cradles, to meet Jamaica’s health and hydration needs.

With a huge smile plastered across his face, Harris told Our Today that he felt fantastic about winning.

“When you enter a competition, you never really know what will happen. But, winning is always a good feeling when you put in the work. It was a lot of hard work, but I feel really good about it,” said Harris.

The second-place winners, receiving $300,000, were husband and wife duo, from Sankhard Company Limited, Richard and Sandra Mcleish.

Sankhard, is Springville’s brand of innovative Jamaican fruit and vegetable-based food products, available locally and to the diaspora.

They are known for creating unique products such as Pumpkin Ketchup.

Receiving the third-place prize was STEM Builder’s Learning Hub, a business operated by Kavelle Hylton.

They are Jamaica’s first online tutoring marketplace, connecting children of all ages to global tutors in more than 40 science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics subjects.

The accelerator programme has 23 small and medium-sized enterprises, from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, who have benefitted from the necessary expertise, training and coaching needed to grow their businesses.