The third rendition of the Re-Align Business and Investment Conference was all about the rich opportunities and investment benefits for African businesses in Jamaica, as well as for Jamaican firms to do business in the diverse 54 African states, as that continent’s nations rise to great heights in areas such as technology and strategic rare minerals that will power the new technological economy with its shifting power dynamics.

The conference held on June 25, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, brought together a wide cross-section of business titans and thought leaders in investment, engaging MSMEs and the broader entrepreneurial class in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. 

From the first charge by the founder and chairman of Entrepreneurial Partners, convenors of the conference, Garfield Daley, it was clear that the growing tradition of excellent business expositions would be continued.

Daley spoke of the indigenous businesses and institutions which powered growth and development in Jamaica from earlier times, noting that “it (business culture) is embedded in the Jamaican psyche, in our DNA to do business… it can be done today, we have gone through it, been there, done that with the drive, tenacity and energy imparted to us and it will work”.

He pointed to some legendary institutions like Mutual Life, Desnoes and Geddes, GraceKennedy and the first wave of native banks, including Century National and the Eagle Group of financial institutions. Daley observed that the time was now ripe to catch the wave of the new opportunities in business in emerging African nations like Rwanda, Ghana and Nigeria and of course Jamaica and its diaspora.

Presenter Anthony Hylton honed in on the need for an Africa-Caribbean Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) similar to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), which allows for the free movement of goods, money and services, while noting that greater advantage needed to be taken of recent developments such as flights from Nigeria bringing tourists.

Anthony, the opposition spokesperson on trade and global logistics,  suggested that these flights could return to Nigeria with Jamaican goods in the cargo hold, as well as moves such as positioning Ghana as a logistics hub for trade and investment.

He also noted that Africa holds “the mineral keys to the future” with critical minerals utilised in smart technologies, among others, and that Jamaica was gifted due to its geographical position in the centre of major trade routes to be a global logistical hub and leverage its prestige in African political circles to take advantage of the emerging opportunities there.

Christopher Denny, JAMPRO vice-president of investment and linkage, spoke of the strides in the domestic economy and Jamaica’s current attractiveness as an investment location due to the strength of its economy, rules-based governance, sound laws, tax incentives and good returns on investment.

He noted that the Jamaica Promotions Corporation had attracted over US$1 billion in investments to Jamaica, primarily in areas such as agriculture, tourism, digital services (BPO, KPO and IPOs), resulting in strong earnings and low unemployment.

Meanwhile, in her presentation, keynote speaker Senator Audrey Marks spoke of her commitment to encouraging increased two-way trade and investment by Jamaican companies with African nations, while accelerating technology transfers with leading African countries such as Rwanda. 

Marks also announced that Jamaica could see movement towards engagement with the development finance-oriented African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in the near future.

Blue Mahoe Holdings CEO David Mullings spoke of the need to reduce the onerous red tape that he thought limited the impetus to start businesses in Jamaica, such as the requirements to produce audited financial statements in order to open a bank account.

He also called on Jamaican or Jamaican-based financial institutions to be become more creative and focused on generating earnings on capital and not just fees, and for local firms to be “consistent in both quality and quantity”.

He cited an observation by a Chilean envoy, who posed him the question regarding the size of Jamaica’s market, which he answered, reflecting Jamaica’s population of around 2.7 million. The ambassador posited that it was much higher, at around 35 million, reflecting the millions of tourists who visited Jamaica annually and the spin-off effects of their experiences and exposure to local products.

Mullings was also critical of the underutilisation of development funds provided by the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) through financial institutions, which preferred to “put their own loans first” to the detriment of small and medium-sized entities (SMEs), particularly.

Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) president Garnett Reid, in a panel discussion, highlighted the need to facilitate MSMEs to maximise their full potential, while vice president Denise Williams called for the same benefits extended to foreign investors to be given to local investors in the Special Economic Zones (SEZ).