The UCC Group of Companies, which includes the largest private non-affiliated, accredited institution of higher learning in Jamaica, and one of the largest in the Caribbean – the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC), has expanded, with the launch of three new subsidiaries that will assist students, alumni, entrepreneurs and other businesses with business development and support services.

UCC Real Estate Investment & Development (REID), SPECTRUM Capital Partners, and the UCC Business Development and Consulting Institute (BDCI) collaborate to generate synergies and to support services primarily for entrepreneurs and micro, small and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs).

“The UCC, which was formed in 2004, has always been entrepreneurial and innovative. The new subsidiaries set out to help with early business finance, information, support, and resources,” the UCC Group said. 

“Graduating students can now acquire assistance for their businesses and career ventures, while developing a lifelong relationship with the Group.”

The UCC Group said its newest strategic business unit (SBU) – the Business Development and Consulting Institute (UCC BDCI) – is a key player in the implementation of Jamaica’s economic growth agenda.

“By investing time and resources in the delivery of business development services to small and emerging businesses, the UCC BDCI helps to drive corporate startup and growth.”

The Business Research Unit complements the activities of the SBDC and supports the academic mission of UCC. The research effort supports data and information for business advising, commercialisation, and environment scanning.

UCC’s real estate and property arm, UCC REID, is seeking to develop additional campuses across the Caribbean, bringing an educational and community theme to larger projects, as well as its own residential and commercial developments in Jamaica. UCC REID helps UCC develop and maximise the use of its estate, and to innovate with blended teaching methods. This subsidiary supports graduating students, alumni and other Jamaican and Caribbean clients, with their property needs, whether office space, warehousing, or manufacturing premise construction or acquisition.

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Formed in the teeth of the epidemic, SPECTRUM Capital Partners, a private equity company, is raising finance to support the UCC Group’s growth, and expansion plans. Currently, directors of this entity are close to partnering with a microfinancing institute in Jamaica that provides loans for students and small businesses, and they are acquiring a majority shareholding in a second organisation.

The University Group will continue to branch out and expand its offerings and services, including business support for UCC’s students, graduates and the wider Jamaican populace. With each assured step in Jamaica and the Caribbean, these Group subsidiaries will continue to build on the institutionally accredited University of the Commonwealth Caribbean’s acknowledged strength as a center of excellent, quality-assured, teaching, learning, innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship.

Dr Winston Adams, UCC’s group founder and executive chair, has said Jamaica will be hearing a lot more from these innovative companies as they roll out the new Group structure and strategy.