Leading Caribbean ed-tech company, One on One Educational Services (One on One), has reserved 30 million shares in its initial public offer (IPO) for members of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA).

The move is keeping with One on One’s mantra, ‘I Am One, Be One Too’.

Members of the JTA are in prime position to take up 1.58 per cent of the shareholding of the company.

Winston Smith, outgoing president of the JTA, expressed delight at the reserved pool set aside for teachers by One on One.

“The Jamaica Teachers’ Association is extremely happy with the prospect of this partnership to ensure that our members are on the path for financial growth and development,” Smith said.

The JTA has already commenced the distribution of share certificates to its more than 20,000 members to afford teachers the opportunity to take up 1,500 shares each when the offer opens on August 12 via the Sagicor eInvest platform.

One on One, through lead broker Sagicor Investments, plans to raise over $358 million with under a third or 121.25 million shares being available to strategic partners, the lead broker, teachers, trainers and its employees.

“We are pleased to have developed a special introductory initiative to broaden the base of ownership of One on One to include the key stakeholder group of teachers and other key partners, who will join hands to advance innovation in education for years to come,” stated Ricardo Allen, president and CEO of One on One.

Smith is encouraging JTA members to take up the One on One offer.

“We are anticipating that our members will move with alacrity to secure the opportunities provided to them… so that they can develop a habit of investing to secure a future post-retirement,” Smith said.

Theola Moore Bruce, manager, Capital Markets at Sagicor Investments, also the arranger on the offer, spoke to One on One’s plan to pursue a liberal dividend policy.

“There are projections for an annual dividend of 25 per cent of net profits to be available for distribution. This is good news for investors to this highly accessible IPO priced at $1 per share, with a minimum share purchase of just 1,000,” Moore Bruce commented.

Headquartered in Kingston, the award-winning online learning platform offers personalised digital education and training solutions for governments, businesses, and individuals alike across the Caribbean. Clients benefit from e-learning courses, online training, instructional design services, as well as expert tutors and trainers.

Allen explained that “Our technology allows teachers to expand. We are leveraging teachers by allowing them to create their courses, monetise and earn by using our platform and we simply earn a commission”.

Proceeds of the IPO will be used to capitalise on long-standing strategic growth identified by investing in next-generation learning content for new and existing markets. One on One also plans to invest in adaptive learning technology using machine learning and artificial intelligence ideas to personalise learning.