Jamaican technology company Shift Left Limited has secured multi-million US dollar contracts with UK-based partners, following its participation in the United Kingdom Trade Partnerships Programme (UKTP), funded by the UK Government and delivered by the International Trade Centre (ITC).

The company, a leader in software development, quality assurance and staff augmentation, recently signed three major international contracts with UK partners. This is as a direct result of benefitting from tailored export strategy coaching, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance training, and participation in a UK trade mission to London earlier this year. These activities equipped Shift Left to strengthen its international readiness.

According to Andrew O’Reggio, director and co-founder of Shift Left Limited: “The UKTP Programme has been a game-changer for Shift Left Limited. It provided the structure, strategy, and support we needed to prepare for international markets. The export coaching and compliance training enabled us to confidently approach UK clients, while the B2B mission gave us the platform to build trust and close deals. Securing these contracts was a direct result of this support. We’re now not only export-ready, we’ve signed contracts and are now working to execute them.”

Shift Left was one of ten Jamaican IT and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies that travelled to London, as well as participated in the Mobile World Congress in Spain, the world’s largest tech event under the UKTP to generate business and market links.

During the mission, the delegation participated in the Digital Transformation Week Global Conference, and an Information Technology roundtable and business networking reception hosted by Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) with support from the Jamaican High Commission in London.

This visit built on earlier training in UK GDPR compliance, export marketing plan, networking and pitching.

The success of this UK initiative is something that British High Commissioner to Jamaica, Judith Slater, is quite elated about. She notes, “The brilliant results that Andrew and his Shift Left team achieved on their visit to the UK and since, really vindicate the investment the UK has made in the UK Trade Partnership Programme, and we really hope that other Jamaican companies will emulate Andrew and Shift Left’s wonderful success in the future.”

The next phase of the UK’s support for Jamaica’s tech and BPO sector is already underway, with another cohort of existing and new companies already selected to build on last year’s successes.

The UK Trade Partnership Programme is dedicated to supporting businesses in Jamaica and across the Caribbean to boost exports to the UK, tapping into the attractive benefits of the UK-CARIFORUM Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The aim is to support Caribbean growth and development through increased trade with the UK, harnessing the region’s talent, innovation and our countries’ close ties.

The programme provides targeted training, export strategy support, and access to international B2B opportunities, helping Caribbean firms access UK markets in high-potential sectors including IT, BPO, food and drink and creative services.

The Caribbean’s IT and BPO sectors represent crucial engines of economic growth and job creation. In Jamaica alone, the industry has reached nearly USD $900 million in revenues and employs more than 60,000 professionals (JAMPRO, 2020).