Caribbean Insider, Jamaica Summer 2018 edition

INSIGHTS TO LIVE WORK PLAY INVEST SUMMER 2018

CAN $9.99

HOT SPOTS TO STAY EAT RELAX TO STAY EAT RELAX

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT PRIME AREAS TO DEVELOP MICRO STOCK EXCHANGE COMING THE PEOPLE WHO STAY

TAKING A CHANCE

ON JAMAICA

I N S I G H T S T O L I V E W O R K P L AY I N V E S T

SUBSCRIBE TODAY www.caribbeaninsidermag.com subscribe@gmccorp.ca

Date of Issue : June 2018

PUBLISHER

CO-PUBLISHER

FOUNDER & EDITOR IN CHIEF ARTISTIC DIRECTOR MSME ALLIANCE EDITORIAL COORDINATOR COPY EDITOR PROOF READERS

ADVERTISING SALES SUBSCRIPTIONS

CONTRIBUTORS

PHOTOGRAPHY & ICONS

Global Media & Communications Corporation 10 Utopia Way, Brampton, ON L6P 4A6 Canada 416.543.2513 | www.caribbeaninsidermag.com | info@gmccorp.ca MSME Alliance (Jamaica) www.themsmealliance.org

Keisha Johnson Francine Grey Carmen Richards Sharon Johnson Shawn Cornwal Althaema Johnson

sales@gmccorp.ca 416.543.2513 subscribe@gmccorp.ca

Donovan Wignal Jerrold Johnson Frances Ross Glen McLeish Wayne Lewis Alex Tveit Amitabh Sharma Jamaica Mortgage Bank (JMB) Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) National Environment & Planning Agency (NEPA)

Warren Brown Brian Lundy Jamaica Tourist Board Dunshire Development Michael Condran Jamaica Mortgage Bank Starbucks Media Moorland Development Company Ltd. House of Clay Paul Aking Studio Freepik from www.flaticon.com

Caribbean Insider Jamaica is produced quarterly. It provides insights to live, work, play and invest in Jamaica with ease.

Copyright © 2018 Caribbean Insider Jamaica All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, displayed, modified, reprinted or distributed without the written consent of Global Media & Communications Corporation. The views expressed by contributors to Caribbean Insider Jamaica are independent and are not necessarily the views of Caribbean Insider Jamaica or the publishers Global Media & Communications Corporation or our co-publishers the MSME Alliance.

EDITORIAL

Welcome to the Inaugural Issue of Caribbean Insider Jamaica!

The buzz is that Jamaica is on the cusp of an economic boom.

Internally, the wheels of government are synchronizing to strengthen the policy framework to create an enabling environment for investment. The private sector is robust and growing; there is significant infrastructural development across the island and real estate investment once centralized in the major cities is expanding across the country side.

Quietly growing also is a pool of overseas investors doing business in or with the island, all while the diaspora is being diligently courted to invest more in Jamaica.

Clues are everywhere. Jamaica is being primed for growth.

Caribbean Insider Jamaica has created a central information hub connecting you with the essentials to live, work, play and invest on the island. Each issue provides insights to navigate doing business in and with Jamaica—with ease.

We’ve partnered with the Micro Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Alliance as co-publishers to keep you abreast of new opportunities on the ground and highlight information essential to advancing this critical sector that employs over 80 percent of the island’s labour force.

Symbolic to this partnership, the magazine debuts on June 27, recognized globally as World MSME day.

We congratulate the MSME Alliance on its 10 years of advocating for the growth of the sector and applaud Jamaica’s minister of finance for promoting the launch of a Micro Stock Exchange for small enterprises.

We hope you’ll grasp the big picture of the growth agenda and trajectory for Jamaica explained in the article Hidden in Plain Sight.

On page 32, JAMPRO indicates five growth sectors for investment. The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) also outlines the priority areas on the island primed for development. Tips to establish a corporation in Jamaica from overseas, securing financing for real estate purchases on the island and pitching to investors are also detailed in this issue.

We hope you’ll be inspired by the stories of: forerunner, Canadian financier David Morrison who has backed major real estate developments in Jamaica; homegrown entrepreneur, Derrick Cottrell whose company is steadily mastering the art of vertical integration and British research fellow Dr. David Picking whose work on medicinal plant use in Jamaican households could help formalize their use in primary healthcare.

Island-wide, there are endless hotspots to stay, play, eat, relax and rejuvenate. To generate an authentic list, we asked our friends who frequent the island to share some of their top pics.

Shall I say, you’re in for a treat!

Keep on reading!

Ke󰇮s󰇬󰈜 Jo󰇭n󰇷󰈢󰈡 Editor in Chief

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Contents 5 8 9 62

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS PARTNERING FOR PROGRESS RESOURCES

LIVE 10 TAKING A CHANCE ON JAMAICA

by Keisha Johnson

21

SUMMER 2018

10

PRIME AREAS TO DEVELOP IN JAMAICA

26 WHITE GLOVE SERVICE FOR

CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPERS To eliminate inefficiencies and boost ROI

29 DO YOU KNOW THE STEPS TO ACQUIRE A MORTGAGE IN JAMAICA

by Frances Ross

WORK

21

34 DERRICK COTTERELL

Success Through Integrity and Hard Work

38 THE BUSINESS OF COMEDY

Corporate director turned comedian shares insights on monetizing your talent

43 DR. DAVID PICKING

Trades a Career in the UK for a Legacy in Jamaica

by Amitabh Sharma & Keisha Johnson

46 MSMEs JAMAICA’S ENGINE FOR GROWTH

38

CONTENTS

PLAY 56 HOT SPOTS

Eat – Negril and Kingston Stay - Negril, Ocho Rios and Portland Relax - Portland and St. Elizabeth

INVEST 17

56

JAMAICA, HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

by Jerrold J. Johnson

31 JAMAICA YOUR PLACE TO DO BUSINESS Contributed by Jamaica Promotions Corporation

49 JAMAICA TO LAUNCH MICRO STOCK EXCHANGE by Glen McLeish

52 ESTABLISHING A CORPORATION

by Wayne O. Lewis

54 TIPS FOR PITCHING TO INVESTORS

by Alex Tveit

17 I N S I G H T S T O L I V E W O R K P L AY I N V E S T SUMMER 2018

US $5.95 / CAN $6.00 / JM $600

HOT SPOTS HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT PRIME AREAS TO DEVELOP MICRO STOCK EXCHANGE COMING THE PEOPLE WHO STAY

TAKING A CHANCE

ON JAMAICA

31

ON THE COVER Spa Retreat, Negril (image courtesy of Jamaica Tourist Board).

CONTRIBUTORS

MAJOR BRIAN A LUNDY, pjsc

WAYNE LEWIS

FRANCES ROSS

Major Lundy is the senior pilot at the Jamaica Defense Force (JDF) Air Wing and is Officer Commanding Training Flight. He received a Medal of Honour for Meritorious Service earned as part of a crew that rescued 53 persons from rising flood waters out of the Bog Walk Gorge in St. Catherine in 2012. Maj Lundy enjoys playing

Wayne Lewis is a Jamaican Canadian lawyer who practices corporate/commercial and business law.

He is also a trade-mark agent. Wayne has advised clients in Canada and in the Caribbean about tax driven corporate restructuring and complex merger and acquisition transactions. Companies regularly seek Wayne’s advice for legal and

soccer and cricket, but lately has developed a real passion for photography. His aerial and landscape photography showcases Jamaica from many angles not commonly seen. His mantra in life remains relatively simple, “Don’t waste your opportunities and give back as much as you can.”

business implications related to acquiring or selling businesses by way of share or asset purchase transactions. Wayne is passionate about assisting Canadian businesses who wish to operate in the Caribbean, and businesses in the Caribbean who wish to operate in Canada.

Frances Ross developed a passion for anything real estate working for her father who is both an Attorney-at-law and a construction developer.

As Business Relationship Manager for JN Bank’s Preferred Developer and Real Estate Affiliate Programs, her work is in establishing formalized partnerships between the Bank, Developers and Real Estate organizations to grow their brand.

Frances has worked in marketing and research with large organizations in the US. She holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Marketing and Finance respectively from Barry University, Florida USA and is a certified Real Estate Salesman.

JERROLD J. JOHNSON

GLENFORD MCLEISH CA, MBA, PMP, B.SC.

WARREN BROWN, photographer

Jerrold J. Johnson is the epitome of a people connector. As the Chief Representative Officer (CRO) for Jamaica National (JN) Canada, he’s constantly networking Canadians with Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals to advance their mutual interests and contribute to economic development locally and overseas. In 2016 he was recognized by the Black Business & Professional Association (BBPA) as a Distinguished Man of Honor for his contributions to the Canadian Caribbean community. Jerrold is a certified financial planner and a founding member of the Caribbean Financial Planning Association.

Glenford McLeish is the Principal, Consulting Services for the firm CrichtonMullings and Associates, Certified Public Accountants, Chartered Accountants and Consultants with offices in Kingston, Miami, FL and Atlanta, GA. He has extensive experience in his field, having worked in the USA, Canada and the Caribbean.

A financial sector specialist, he has worked in audit, banking and investment management, securities regulation, forensics and business valuations. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica, the Global Project Management Institute (PMI), and a student member of The Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators.

Combined with his love of travel, Warren uses his “Journeying” blog to share the stories of people and places. In 2011, a collection of images from his journey to Paris was hosted by the AllianceFrancaise in Toronto as part of the exhibit, Paris a Pas Perdus - “Wandering Paris”. Though based in Toronto, Warren has spent a lot of time in Jamaica photographing the island’s dynamic real estate scene along with community tourism experiences.

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Partnering for Progress

by DONOVAN WIGNAL, President, MSME Alliance

“T

he building of partnerships and strategic alliances, the nurturing of relationships, modernization, and the team approach to decision-making, are the only sure paths to success for businesses and organizations in the global economy of the 21st century.

Small businesses that wish to succeed in this environment must position themselves to take advantage of opportunities that are increasingly becoming available only to those businesses that are formally structured.

The Government of Jamaica (GoJ), in its Strategic Business Plan (2017-2021) for the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF) states that among the strategic outcomes of the priority policies, programmes and projects of MICAF over the period, is: “Increased contribution of local industries, agriculture, fisheries and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to GDP.” “The development of the MSME sector is critical to the transformational growth envisioned for other sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, logistics, and tourism,” the GoJ said.

This recognition of the centrality of the MSME sector to GDP growth, has been the core mission of the Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Alliance (MSME Alliance) since its formation 10 years ago. It is in no small part a direct result of the advocacy of the Alliance over the years that has led to many of the changes now taking place in respect of government policy and actions regarding the small business sector.

When I assumed the leadership of the MSME Alliance in 2013, the mandate of my administration was to grow the organization; help strengthen the capacity of the individual businesses that make up the memberorganizations of the Alliance; and promote the interests of the smallbusiness sector, ensuring that we had a seat at the table where decisions about the sector are taken.

But we were only able to get to this point by our strategic actions to create mutually beneficial partnerships, build relationships, and advocate persistently in our interest.

Our partnership with Global Media & Communications Corporation (GMCC Corp) and our co-branding of Caribbean Insider Magazine, is an excellent example of a strategic partnership for mutual benefit. Through its many platforms and distribution channels, the magazine will indeed “help investors navigate doing business in Jamaica with greater ease,” and present “opportunities and insights for living, working, playing and investing in Jamaica successfully.”

I extend hearty congratulations to Keisha Johnson and the team at GMCC Corp and a grateful “thank you” to the members of the Executive Committee, the Board, member-organizations and member-businesses of the MSME Alliance.

Donovan Wignal Email: dwignal@gmail.com

JAMAICA TAKING A CHANCE ON

by KEISHA JOHNSON

Master bedroom in one of the units at Gates of Edgehill, St. Mary a long-time vision of returning resident Rollyn Bennett financed by Morrison Financial.

I

n 1996 Canadian private financier David Morrison got a rather strange call from a lawyer who at the time was representing a new housing development outfit in Jamaica. The situation was tenuous. The developers were at a critical juncture and desperately needed project financing to save their contract. The lawyer, Jeff Bernstein —a friend of Morrison— pitched him on financing the development, fully confident Morrison would jump at it.

“He said you are the only one in the world who will do it. And I thought, then I don’t want to do it. Why do you say, I’m the only one who will do it?” And he said, because you are financing projects in Cuba,” Morrison told of his first investment encounter with Jamaica.

“I love the place, I had been going there for many years before as a tourist and Jamaica always had a special appeal for me,” he mused.

“It so happened that I was going to Cuba the next day after I spoke to him [Bernstein]. I was travelling on a private plane and I made a deal with the pilot to detour to Jamaica. I went and met with the New Era Homes Jamaica team, viewed the site for Angels Estate in St. Catherine and agreed to finance the project,” Morrison recounted of saving the joint-venture housing project with the government of Jamaica.

David Morrison, founder Morrison Financial.

As off the cuff as that may seem, it aligns with the founding principles of Morrison Financial which, David Morrison, himself a lawyer, launched in Canada in 1987 to provide asset-based financing to Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMB) shunned by conventional banks.

“Available funding was often inadequate for these companies to quickly and efficiently capitalize on opportunities,” Morrison’s website documents of the company’s history.

Au fait with how to plug the gap, David Morrison started to advance funding against account receivables, a welcome alternative that allowed his clients to sustain business operations and achieve growth. As the client success rate and need increased, so did the Morrison Financial portfolio of creative financial solutions.

Today the firm provides debt and equity financing for small businesses, construction mortgage financing and CondoCorp term financing in Canada.

“Your company extended this loan at a time when foreign financing for housing projects in Jamaica was not favourable,” Carl A. Tucker, then joint venture coordinator in the Ministry of Environment and Housing wrote to Morrison Financial Services Limited in a March 15, 1999 letter. “Thanks again for the faith in the housing sector of Jamaica by your company and I hope there will be other ventures in Jamaica you will be able to finance in future,” it continued.

Since then, many proposals have crossed David Morrison’s desk for investments in Jamaica but none got the nod, even though he continued to visit the island frequently.

“My tennis coach is Jamaican. He takes me there once per year for tennis trips,” the business mogul shared in reference to award winning tennis champ Karl Hayle, a native of Falmouth, Trelawny and the founder of Helping Hands, a Canadian-based charity that collaborates with Food For the Poor to build schools across the island. Hayle who is also director of the Rogers Cup Tennis Tournament in Toronto, hosts annual tennis workshops on the island in which Morrison and his wife were regular participants.

JAMAICA SECOND TIME AROUND Seventeen years post financing the Angels Estate project, all the cards were stacked just right in 2013 for David Morrison to back another major residential project on the island. This time a 300 home mid-luxury gated community in the Mango Valley hills of St. Mary overlooking the Caribbean Sea. The north-coast property owner and lead principal of Edgehill Homes, Rollyn Bennett was one of the many referrals Morrison said he had received from executives at the housing ministry several years prior.

Bennett had migrated to Canada in the early 70s and like many diaspora residents longed to give back and make an impact in Jamaica.

“We had built houses for Operation Pride and I decided to buy land and build on our own land,” Rollyn Bennett who is originally from St. 12

JUNE 2018

Gates of Edgehill homes are designed with open-concept kitchen, living and dining with vaulted ceilings throughout.

Mary shared about his 63-acre acquisition. “I decided this is what I should do as my way of giving something to St. Mary that didn’t exist,” he said of his vision to build a large-scale gated community.

Reflecting on the initial plan, Morrison said, “I reviewed his proposal but decided against it at the time. I gave Mr. Bennett my best advice.

He told me it was the ‘most polite’ and informative ‘no’ he had received.” But as the Jamaican proverb goes “what nuh dead, nuh dash weh”. In other words, never give up hope.

In an almost serendipitous encounter the two men met again in Jamaica almost a decade after their first exchange. During pleasantries Rollyn Bennet relayed that his son Adrian, a finalyear student at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada needed an internship to complete his under graduate studies in International Economics and Finance.

David was agreeable and his ‘yes’ set in motion a series of plays that would transform the life of both father and son and his too in navigating doing business in Jamaica the second-time around.

“I was trying to find an internship on my own when my dad had met up with David in Jamaica and Dad called me and told me to give David a call. I was actually operating my own painting business to help pay for school but Dad insisted I call David because of his respect for him. So I did. When David said ‘yes’ [to the internship] I sold my painting business to one of the workers,” the young Bennett laughed as he reminisced on the life changing adventure.

Having never worked in an office setting, Adrian admits he was reticent about the opportunity. “I always wanted to work with my hands” he said. But his horizons were broadened during the internship as the company allowed him extensive exposure to various facets of the business with assignments in their accounts, risk management and later business development departments.

“Adrian came and interned with us for four months and then we employed him,” David Morrison explained of how his second deal in Jamaica took shape. “He’s one of our very favourite employees. We like him a lot” the mentor and founder said.

Adrian’s internship transitioned to a three-year job in Morrison Financial’s Risk Management department where his responsibilities included monitoring and underwriting construction loans and reporting on construction contracts. “I learned a lot and got to understand the Real Estate industry from a risk perspective,” the second generation Jamaican-Canadian commented.

He then moved to the business development unit. “The director there needed someone to help and he agreed he would teach me everything and we work together as part of a team. I’ve been doing that for six years,” Adrian now a business development director told Caribbean Insider Jamaica.

“From time to time we’d talk about his dad and what was happening with the property in Jamaica,” David Morrison explained. Those conversations yielded progressive insights about Rollyn’s attempts to get the Edgehill Homes going.

According to Adrian, over the course of a decade, his dad had received all the necessary permits and approvals for the development, restructured his business model and marshalled a team ready to build. “Dad had mitigated the risks,” the only son remarked.

By then the real estate market in Jamaica had also improved with growing interests from the diaspora and Morrison felt the time was right to back the project. They brokered a deal.

Morrison Financial would finance the project and Edgehill Homes Limited, the operating partner, would build the homes. They officially broke ground in November 2014 to construct The Gates of Edgehill.

“This project is something I’ve been planning for about 15 years” Rollyn Bennett was quoted as saying in a Jamaica Gleaner report of the launch in November 2014. “I really don’t think St. Mary has ever seen anything like this before. This parish needs jobs and economic growth and we’re going to be employing upwards of 200 people on a weekly basis for the next three to four years”, he added.

Adrian Bennett, Director Business Development Morrison Financial helped David Morrison to restructure his father’s vision for success.

“My dad was ecstatic that David believed and was ready to come back to Jamaica to invest in the project… he was relieved to get the financial backing he needed” Adrian shared. But the development got off to somewhat of a ‘false start’.

REBOOTING AND STRUCTURING FOR SUCCESS IN JAMAICA “After the first two houses [were built] we realized he didn’t have the expertise so we stopped the project,” David Morrison shared. “The quality of workmanship and some of the processes were not as smooth as they should be,” Adrian added. He said the parties mutually agreed to bring someone in to manage the construction. They rearranged the contract, redesigned the homes, crafted a strategic plan and rebooted the project.

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3-bedroom model units: (Above) The Diana 1650 sq. ft; (Left) The Elizabeth 1900 sq. ft.

All of Adrian’s knowledge and expertise gained at Morrison Financial were also brought to bear to reset the venture for success and ensure the fulfillment of his father’s dream and legacy. It was also Adrian’s first business dealing in Jamaica as a professional, having only spent holidays on the island prior with family.

“One of the biggest lessons I learned is that there is a professional and business class of young and old that’s very similar to Canada who are committed to getting things done, to improving the quality of life and the economy in Jamaica,” the millennial observed.

But not being in Jamaica, he said it was important to look at as many options as possible to find the right-fit local team, which is imperative for any foreign player to ensure success on the ground.

“We sought referrals from people, contacted people in the industry and came up with a list, then shortlisted to four candidates and interviewed all four. Then narrowed it to two and began to negotiate,” Adrian explained of their team acquisition process.

“It came down to a comfort level,” he revealed of their final selection of Complete Development Solutions (CDS).

“You’re putting lots of money on the line and people’s livelihoods as well, so you have to know it’s in good hands,” he advised, pinpointing trust, capacity, expertise, ability and a track record of success with comparative projects as the non-negotiables they needed from the local project manager.

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Stringent reporting and accountability measures were also implemented that had to be met to permit the release of every draw down of funds. Drone footage were part of the reporting protocol to allow the overseas team to visually assess progress between reporting periods.

Morrison Financial also hired a Canadian company, Dunsire Developments that provides oversight to the Jamaican project management team in addition to assuming responsibility for the sales and marketing functionalities of the development. They are onsite monthly to monitor the progress of the development, provide quality assurance checks and keep deliverables and expectations on target.

COMMUNITY IMPACT Morrison said for him getting involved in Jamaica again was more than just about investing money in the island. He bought into Rollyn’s vision to improve the local community. They injected life into the mainly agricultural area by providing weekly employment for up to 200 persons from the area and other parts of the island. They’ve financed the construction and furnishing of a well-needed Infant school within the community with the capacity to enroll 100 preschoolers.

They’ve widened the narrowest sections of the municipal roadway and committed to resurface the 2 km stretch from the North coast highway to beyond their development when construction of the development is complete.

“We’re also very cognizant that feeling safe is important to Jamaicans and although this is a very safe neighbourhood, we’ve decided to add lights all the way from the main road to Mango Valley. We are also adding cameras along the roadway that will connect into the guard house and the local police station for added assurance,” Morrison revealed.

PROPOSAL TO HOMEOWNERS Encouraging homeowners to adopt the community, they’ve included a caveat in the bylaws that requires each homeowner to contribute USD$100 annually to the Boscobel Infant school. The funds will go to Food for the Poor Jamaica who will be the Trustee. Under the bylaws and Trust, the funds can be used for any needs of the school such as, teachers, furniture, transportation, scholarships or assistance to families of the students.

“To the extent it’s not needed for the basic school it can go to the primary school. Once in the Bylaws it will be difficult to reverse and I don’t think anyone will have the guts to stand and move a motion to change that,” Morrison said proudly of the initiative.

At USD $100 per homeowner among 300 homes it will be USD $30,000 per annum, enough to support the school for perpetuity.

“We’re further recommending to our prospective homeowners to adopt the school and get involved with a programme. There can’t be anything more meaningful than helping the children with their education and feeling like they’re part of the community,” he suggested.

CHALLENGE TO DEVELOPERS “My hope is that other developers will see this and do the same. Or at least people will hear about the model and ask other developers what are they doing for the communities they build and bring some pressure to bear on ensuring more sustainable community development on the island,” Morrison said.

“We are very grateful for what they’ve done,” Perletta Johnson, principal of the Boscobel Primary and Infant school commented.

“Having the infant school here means many parents won’t have to travel as far to send their children to school. It also means more children will be registered in school because they won’t have to pay to go to a private Basic school, they also get a hot meal here that is subsidised,” the principal added.

Ms. Johnson told Caribbean Insider Jamaica that she initially applied to Food for the Poor in 2012 to assist with providing the structure for the school. She persistently followed up with them until she got word that sponsors were found in 2015. Edgehill Homes provided 100% financing for the school which was constructed by Food for the Poor.

The fully furnished four-classroom school opened in September 2017 with 34 students, all from within a 3-mile radius of the school and the gated community.

Gates of Edgehill was officially opened in April, 2018 with the first phase of 108 mid-luxury detached houses starting at $US 255,995 – US$316,000. The revised design includes two open concept models, each just over 1650 and 1900 square feet respectively, and country club amenities intentionally designed to appeal to the diaspora eager to retire in Jamaica or own a vacation home on the island. The entire development is slated for completion in 2020.

“I spent two days in the model homes for the launch and I was very comfortable, and very pleased with all the finishes. I thought to myself, I could live here,” Morrison said reflecting that not many developers can honestly say that of the projects they build.

“I am very glad people are looking at the project Rollyn said, “people in general will see what St Mary has to offer. It is as a tranquil, nice quiet place to live and raise a family.” CIJ

New Boscobel Infant School built in the community by Food for the Poor with 100% financing from Edge Hill Homes.

CREATI NG STRATEGIC ALLIANCES, MEANI NGFUL PARTNERSHIPS AND LOBBYING TO I MPROVE THE REPRESENTATION OF MICRO SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN JAMAI CA AND THE CARIBBEAN

www.themsmealliance.org (876) 610-9371 or (876)Â 303-4755 msmealliance@gmail.com /msme.mag@gmail.com

amaica J HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

W

by JERROLD J. JOHNSON

arren Buffet, one of the world’s most successful investors in history, said that as an investor “it is wise to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful”. Should one adopt Buffet’s contrarian philosophy of investing, then without a doubt, now would be the time to invest in Jamaica.

Jamaica is poised for tremendous growth in the coming years. Many outside and even within Jamaica are unable to decipher what is really going on and why.

Crime and violence eclipse the deterrents voiced loudly by members of its diaspora as to why they remain contemplative about doing business or investing in Jamaica. While they procrastinate, a number of outsiders looking in, see vast opportunities and have chosen to jump in and invest in Jamaica.

This is evidenced by some of the worlds’ top brands doing business on or from the island. Porsche for example, has a dealership in New Kingston. I recently called Amazon customer service from Canada and discovered I was speaking to a fellow county man at JUNE 2018

17

Jamaica’s first Starbucks store, opened at the Doctor’s Cave Beach, Montego Bay, St. James in November 2017. (Images on pages 17 - 18 courtesy of Starbucks Newsroom).

the Amazon call centre in Jamaica. As you may already be aware, Starbucks is now open in Montego Bay. I’ve read in the Jamaica Observer shortly after the first store’s launch that they were hiring for their second location in Kingston. The company’s website also reports that they intend to open 15 locations across the island in 5 years. These companies join a long list of other international brands successfully doing business in and from Jamaica.

What is it that they see? What is driving them to invest in Jamaica?

Here are a few macro factors to consider that give understanding of the investment prospect and growth trajectory of Jamaica.

POLITICAL CLIMATE The political construct of Jamaica is considered to be stable. Jamaica is a commonwealth country employing a social democratic ideology equally endorsed by its two major political parties. Neither of the two political parties’ philosophy in their current form have the potential to cause the country to shift towards communist or dictatorial ideologies and that’s assuring for most investors.

Jamaica and strictly adhere to global Anti-Money Laundering policies, allowing for the smooth flow of funds globally.

The value of the Jamaica currency against its North American and European counterparts tips the scales to the benefit of foreign investors from these locations as their foreign currency have the power to stretch farther in Jamaica than it would in their home economies.

JAMAICA’S POLICY FRAMEWORK One has to look no farther than Jamaica’s Ministry of Justice website to recognize there has been significant priming within the policy framework to create an enabling environment for investments and economic growth. A cursory look at the recent laws being passed or amended over the last few years shows tremendous activity within the policy framework to stimulate investments and economic growth.

Let me site a few: n n

FINANCIAL SYSTEMS Jamaica has a stable financial system allowing for the exchange of funds between lenders, investors, and borrowers. The Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) over the last few years has been counted among the best performing Stock Exchanges in the world and in 2015 was ranked as the #1 Stock Exchange having grown by 80%.

Jamaica has seven commercial banks tightly regulated by the Bank of 18

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n n n n n

Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority Act – passed 2017 The Companies (Amendment) Act - passed 2017 The Financial Services Commission (Amendment) Act, 2016 – passed 2016 The Insurance (Amendment) Act – passed 2017 The Copyright (Amendment) Act – passed 2017 The Defence (Amendment) Act – passed 2017 The Local Government (Financing and Financial Management) Act – passed 2016

n n n n n n n n n

The Special Economic Zones Act – passed 2016 The Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Act – passed 2015 The Electricity Act – passed 2015 The Urban Renewal (Tax Relief) Act – passed 2015 The Public Procurement Act – passed 2015 The Timeshare Vacations Act – passed 2014 Employment (Flexible Work Arrangements) (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill – passed 2014 Protection of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Act – passed 2013 Tax Administration Jamaica Act – passed 2013

SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES Jamaica passed legislation in 2016 to create the Jamaica Special Economic Zones Authority (JSEZA) which is tasked to develop Special Economic Zones (SEZs) across the island as a strategy for fostering development and trade within the country.

One of these Special Economic Zones is Jamaica’s Logistics Hub, primed to become the World’s 4th Global Logistics Hub by leveraging Jamaica’s strategic geographic location at the center of the shipping lanes and air travel to the Americas. The Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority released on their website that: “Jamaica’s Logistics Hub Initiative is regarded as pivotal to generating higher levels of sustainable economic growth, greater fiscal stability and significant job creation.

Its full build-out will comprise nearly 3,900 hectares of development island wide from over US$28 billion of projected investments, and resulting in the creation of 87,400 direct jobs.”

They also stated that “An analysis of the multiplier effect shows that each job can potentially create five additional openings, equating to an overall 437,000 employment opportunities.”

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT Jamaica has improved and continues to improve its road and highway network infrastructure. The new North Coast highway has reduced travel time between the capital Kingston and the tourist town of Ocho Rios from an hour to about 40 minutes. Travel time from Kingston to Montego Bay is reduced to about 1 hr and 45 minutes.

growth in Jamaica, and what it means for business investment in the country.

The country’s policy framework is clearly in play, laying the foundation for a path for growth, regardless of which political party is in power and despite differences to their approach.

The financial systems of the country are firmly in place laying the foundation for greater transparency and governance through the Main and Junior Stock Exchanges. This also lends to greater potential foreign participation in investing in Jamaica through the purchase of company stocks. Canada for example, has recently engrafted the Jamaica Stock Exchange as a “Designated Exchange” into the family of tax advantaged investments under the Canadian Income Tax Act to the benefit of Canadian investors.

For economic growth and development to advance and be sustained it requires the right environment which is created through a policy framework. It is evident that Jamaican legislators are keenly aware and are revisiting existing legislation and creating new ones acting as a catalyst for economic stimulation. The Special Economic Zone Act is one such legislation to stimulate growth.

When understood, Jamaica’s drive towards becoming the world’s 4th Global Logistics Hub has the largest potential for becoming Jamaica’s bastion for economic activity. Just as gasoline prices send ripple effects through virtually all industries and sectors, the Special Economic Zones will have a similar domino impact influencing most sectors and industries. Activities with the SEZs will impact the transportation industries from shipping to airlift; construction; commercial and residential Real Estate; domestic and foreign trade; manufacturing; retail; agriculture; tourism; finance and education among others.

Now that we’ve separated you from the noise and given you a macro view of the Jamaican landscape and the implications of what is happening and is set to happen, the question is, will you remain contemplative about investing in Jamaica or will you employ Warren Buffet’s contrarian investment philosophy? CIJ ATL Automotive opened a Porsche dealership in Jamaica in 2017.

Kingston has also recently upgraded the sewage system and increased the housing density allowance thereby increasing the number of habitable rooms per acre for residential developments and the carrying capacity for a larger population.

OPPORTUNITIES HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT Let’s assess the implications from a macro view of all this information on the potential for economic JUNE 2018

19

HOME & PRIVATE CARE SERVICES Companionship & Sitter Services Acquire Brain Injury Care Foot Care Infant & Childcare Post Surgical Care Personal Care (Bathing, Grooming, Feeding) Meal Planning & Preparation Incidental Transportation Running Errands & Personal Shopping Light Housekeeping Medication Reminders & Monitoring IV Therapy Rehabilitation Extra Assistance in hospital, long-term care facilities & retirement homes.

W

hat does Downtown Kingston, Vernamfield, Bernard Lodge, Parliament Square, Falmouth, Caymanas, Negril, Morant Bay, St. Thomas, St. Anns Bay to Trelawny coast and the coastal areas of Portland all have in common?

These are among the priority areas earmarked for immediate development by the Government of Jamaica and where developers are encouraged to put their investment dollars.

According to the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), that has responsibility for Jamaica’s spatial planning, any development in these areas must demonstrate ability to meet current needs while safeguarding resources for future generations.

For its part, the government is assuming responsibility to ensure there is adequate infrastructure such as roads, sewage, water and power supply available to accommodate future development. The areas are also pre-zoned for specific activities based on need.

Preapproved zoning and ready infrastructure are bonuses in cost savings to prospective developers.

Additional incentives available to qualified developers to spur develop in these areas include: The Urban Renewal tax relief - a suite of tax breaks; capacity concessions for residential builds and larger density incentives.

PRIME AREAS TO

DEVELOP IN JAMAICA

Bernard Lodge, St. Catherine

Caribbean Insider Jamaica checked in with NEPA for deeper insights about the national development prioritization plan, what prospective developers need to know and how to engage.

CIJ: WHAT IS THE LONG TERM VISION FOR LAND DEVELOPMENT IN JAMAICA? NEPA: The long term vision for land development in Jamaica is one of sustainable, resilient development i.e. to ensure that economic growth/ development maintains a balance with the environmental, social and cultural aspects of the Jamaican people and ensure that development is in conformity to the Development Orders, National Spatial Plan, Vision 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

CIJ: WHICH AREAS IN JAMAICA ARE CURRENTLY BEING PRIORITIZED FOR DEVELOPMENT? NEPA: The entire country is being prioritized for development. The National Spatial Plan will seek to JUNE 2018

21

DOWNTOWN KINGSTON

FALMOUTH, TRELAWNY

CAYMANAS, ST. CATHERINE

PORTLAND

improve the overall marketability of Jamaica, its regions, sub-regions and local areas by identifying areas of deficiency, advantages and factors in the environment that can be capitalized on in order to achieve greater productivity and profit.

It emphasizes the targets laid out in Vision 2030: The National Development Plan (NDP). It quantifies resource and land space requirements in order to achieve the set targets. It is from this 22

JUNE 2018

document, the National Spatial Plan (NSP) that Development Orders and Local Sustainable Development Plans are derived. From these documents the areas for prioritization are chosen for specialized development.

Numerous developments are therefore being proposed to include but are not limited to areas within: agriculture and fisheries sector, areas for eco-tourism, mining, road improvements, areas for developing new towns, areas for infilling and densification, entertainment zones,

VERNAMFIELD, CLARENDON

heritage and conservation sites for example the Blue and John Crow Mountains and Port Royal. There are also proposed developments within the territorial waters such as Cow Bay, near Yallahs, St. Thomas, which has one of the deepest harbours in the world at a natural depth of 51 metres, and as such gives it an advantage in the role it will play in the global logistics hub.

OTHER AREAS SLATED FOR PRIORITY DEVELOPMENT:

PRIORITY AREAS FOR LOGISTICS HUB FACILITIES

CIJ: WHAT IS THE PROCESS TO GAIN APPROVAL FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THESE PRIORITY AREAS? NEPA: Applications may be required to be submitted to NEPA as well as the relevant Municipal Corporations. NEPA also provides an opportunity for pre-application guidance through the services of the Development Applications Centre (DAC). The DAC manages the processes of the supply of relevant environmental and planning information to proponents to assist them to determine the feasibility of the project and to prepare for and make an acceptable and complete application to the pertinent approval agencies, such that once application is made, the process for approval will be without issue, will flow smoothly and will be completed within the Government’s 90-day approval process requirement.

The proposed Jamaica transhipment and logistics hub will have six separate but complementary elements that include the dredging of the Kingston Harbour; expanding the port facilities at Fort Augusta and Gordon Cay, establishing the Dry Dock facility at Jackson Bay, Clarendon; establishing a transshipment port facility near Yallahs, St. Thomas; developing the Caymanas Economic Zone; and developing an air cargo and passenger facility at Vernamfield in Clarendon.

PRIORITY AREAS FOR RESORT/ RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT Areas prioritized for resort/ residential development are those which fall under the Shovel Ready & Investment Projects. The project was conceptualized as an initiative for spurring economic growth by fast tracking investments in key sectors including tourism and concentrated along northern coastal zones for example Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Falmouth. The areas are zoned for resort, residential, commercial and industrial activities.

Downtown Kingston and Port Royal; Negril, Westmoreland; Bernard Lodge, St. Catherine; Vernamfield, Clarendon; Parliament Square (National Heroes Circle and its surroundings), Falmouth, Trelawny; St. Anns Bay to Trelawny Coast; Portland; St. Thomas; Naine, St. Elizabeth and Naggo Head, St Catherine.

Images on pages 21-23 by Brian Lundy.

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23

Jamaica’s Prime Areas to Develop and the Approved Zonings Priority Areas

Scope of development planned

Downtown Kingston and Port Royal

Redevelopment of City of Kingston and Heritage site Port Royal

Vernamfield, Clarendon

New Town Concept associated with the Logistics Hub

Negril, Westmoreland

Boost tourism in light of the expected Master Plan for the locale

Bernard Lodge, St. Catherine 2000 acres

Residential (17,000 houses) and Agro Park facilities

Parliament Square (National Heroes Circle), Kingston

Centralize offices of the government of Jamaica and construct a new parliament building among other activities

Falmouth, Trelawny

Expansion of the Falmouth Port to boost tourism product and delineate areas for provision of social services e.g. housing for workers

St. Ann to Trelawny Coast

Boost tourism product

Portland

Boost tourism development across the entire parish esp. ecotourism, health and wellness tourism

Caymanas, St. Catherine: Caymanas Economic Zone 5000 acres

Develop a planned mixed use approach to the development of greenfield areas

St. Thomas

New urban centre for Morant Bay. (Goodyear factory lands to be used)

Nain, St. Elizabeth

Reopening of Alpart/ Jisco for mining purposes

South Coast Highway Road Improvement

Harbour View to Bull Bay (St. Thomas) and Clarendon to Negril, Phase 1 being from Harbour View to Yallahs

Naggo Head, St. Catherine 57 acres

Technology park (Information and Technology) Enabled Services

Approved Zoning Tourism

Residential

Office

Commercial

Industrial

Agricultural

Recreational

Light Industrial

Light Industrial

Information supplied by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA).

Developing these earmarked areas will help curtail urban drift and over population in the existing urban centres currently home to 54% of the island’s 2.7 million population. The clustering of economic zones across the island with integrated residential communities within or around them, will allow people to live closer to their work, minimize commutes and increase productivity hours while being able to access necessary social services and amenities in a short radius. CIJ 24

JUNE 2018

WHITE GLOVE SERVICE

Construction for

Developers

H

TO ELIMINATE INEFFICIENCIES AND BOOST ROI

ardly anyone would argue that all 4,244 square miles of Jamaica is exotic real estate. From misty mountain ranges to verdant plains, pulsating towns and tranquil coastal enclaves, Jamaica has an ideal spot for everyone.

The DAC’s one-stop office provides developers pre-application advice and coordinates and tracks applications between agencies. Their streamlining collapses processing timeframes by 50 percent and fast tracks developers to breaking ground and getting their properties to sale.

Increasingly, more overseas and local developers are putting their skin in the game as the government seeks to make investing in the island more attractive. Demand for local real estate remains robust, thanks in part to low mortgage rates, lower yields on competing developments, the ease of travel and myriad development opportunities facilitated by the new highway networks connecting the north and south coasts to the capital city.

There is even more, shall we say ‘white glove service’ available to developers to ensure their success as Jamaica strategizes to meet its 15,000 per annum housing deficit.

Central to this concierge service is the Jamaica Mortgage Bank with its premium package of construction financing and technical support services to help steer developers away from costly construction pitfalls and bolster them for worthwhile return on their investments.

REDUCING INEFFICIENCIES Pre-build statutory approvals that once took 18 months to two years and that had developers traversing to multiple government agencies, was centralized in 2011 through the Development Assistance Centre (DAC).

26

JUNE 2018

Caribbean Insider Jamaica (CIJ) connects with the bank’s Technical Officer, Raymond Johnson to understand the edge they provide to developers.

CIJ: WHAT IS THE JAMAICA MORTGAGE BANK? JMB: The Jamaica Mortgage Bank, is a statutory corporation operating under the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC), in three business areas: i. Primary Market Financing, which deals with construction project financing through mobilization of loan funds for on-lending to public and private sector housing developers and other lending institutions. ii. Secondary Mortgage Market through which the Bank partners with mortgage-lending institutions to provide liquidity support by purchasing mortgages originated by the institutions. iii. Mortgage Indemnity Insurance which the JMB administers on behalf of the government of Jamaica and involves insuring the upper portion of mortgage loans made by approved financial institutions to purchasers of residential properties, residential lots and agricultural properties against default loss.

CIJ: WHO DO YOU SERVE? JMB: The Jamaica Mortgage Bank serves: Developers of housing units or residential lots.

Mortgage granting institutions who participate in the Government of Jamaica’s Mortgage Indemnity Insurance programme.

Members of the Jamaican Diaspora undertaking housing construction in Jamaica.

Financial institutions requiring JMB’s technical services to support their construction related loans.

the Bank also has a legacy of repeat clients who are well established industry players, and was lead bank in a very successful multibillion-dollar public/private partnership student accommodation project, which demonstrates JMBs openness and flexibility, as well as its willingness to take risks, within context, in order to advance the nation’s growth and development.

The Bank has sought to bolster the management of its loan portfolio through active monitoring and follow-up, and utilizes a robust set of risk metrics to select and price projects which it finances.

JMB’s Technical Support Services offers access to the Bank’s technical expertise as a means of supporting other providers of bridge, or interim financing to the housing sector to improve the success rate of their financing activities in the sector. This service helps to better manage and reduce construction risks experienced by other lenders, and thereby, produces improved returns on their investments in the sector, while advancing our joint effort to increase Jamaica’s housing stock and bring home ownership within the grasp of more of our people.

The JMB finances and provides technical support for a variety of housing development projects from single family dwellings to townhouses and multi-storey apartments: (LEFT) The Little Bay Country Club. (BELOW) Abu Dhabi, St. Andrew, Huddersfield St. Mary.

CIJ: WHAT IS YOUR MANDATE? JMB: To finance safe and affordable housing so that all Jamaicans will have access to home ownership.

CIJ: HOW DO YOU ASSIST DEVELOPERS? JMB: Developers may obtain project financing which comes complete with technical advice and project management guidance, including regular site visits, from the JMB. Developers may make contact with the technical team of the Business Operations Department at the JMB by dialing 876-929-6350-2 in order to schedule a consultation session. They may also visit the Company’s Website at www.jmb.gov.jm to review the Developers’ Application Booklet, which will provide a guide to the regulatory requirements for residential construction and developments, what to include in the business plan, documentation needed to qualify for funding, complete a loan application and access information on the various steps in the project financing process.

CIJ: WHY SHOULD A DEVELOPER CHOOSE TO ENGAGE THE JMB AND ITS TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES? JMB: The JMB is the only financial institution of its kind on the island, specializing in construction project financing. Over its forty-seven years’ existence, the Bank has developed deep expertise in the area and a proud track record of successful projects. Its staff, having at its core a highly trained and qualified technical team, understands the nuances of the construction industry and its role as a driver of economic growth. JMB has sought to execute every project financing request with efficiency and alacrity.

The team is eager to assist developers and willingly provides guidance to all, especially first-time or relatively new developers. But JUNE 2018

27

CIJ: HOW DO DEVELOPERS QUALIFY FOR AND ENGAGE THESE SERVICES? JMB: Developers desirous of accessing financing from JMB complete a standard application form which is submitted together with the supporting documents identified on the accompanying check-list— available on-line as part of the Application Booklet. Hard copies are also available at JMBs office. Site visits by the Bank’s technical team are a key part of the application and loan monitoring processes.

Decisions are usually communicated within four (4) to six (6) weeks of receipt of the completed application.

newest products launched in 2015: Diaspora Home Building Services and the Technical Support Services (described above).

CIJ: WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT OF YOUR TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES INTERVENTIONS? JMB: Growing interest in the service is being shown by financial institutions resulting from the noticeable increase in the success rate of projects benefiting from financing with this service included.

Furthermore, improved returns on investment are being experienced by both the financier and the developer as more projects are completed on schedule and within budget.

CIJ: LIST THE COMMON PITFALLS OVERSEAS AND NEW DEVELOPERS ENCOUNTER AND HOW THE JMB HELP THEM STEER CLEAR OF THESE? JMB: Less experienced developers can usually benefit from guidance through the regulatory approval process, building design, system selection, budgeting/costing and assembling a suitable professional team to take the project from design to implementation and sales.

JMBs technical team provides invaluable support in these areas to help prospective developers achieve their business objectives.

CIJ: WHAT ARE YOUR NEXT PRIORITY AREAS FOR NEW SERVICES OR IMPROVEMENTS? JMB: Apart from maintaining its leadership role in the primary market, the Bank’s priority is to boost the interest and take-up of our two

The Diaspora Home Building Service targets members of the diaspora desirous of building a home for vacation or residence on the island.

Through this vehicle JMB provides the full slate of professional project management services relevant to such ventures—from building designs to regulatory approvals and construction—so that clients avoid the nightmares frequently encountered by persons relying on friends or family members to undertake these projects.

A “know-it-all� attitude or rushing into apparent deals without due diligence can lead to frustration, abuse and loss. CIJ

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#BMMBUFS "WFOVF ,JOHTUPO t QSFTUJHFSFBMUZ@KB!ZBIPP DPN t QSFTUJHFSFBMUZKB DPN 28

JUNE 2018

Do You Know THE STEPS TO ACQUIRE A MORTGAGE IN JAMAICA?

by FRANCES ROSS, Business Relationship Manager, JN Bank Developer/Real Estate Affiliate Programme

O

wning ‘a piece of the rock’ is a dream for many Jamaicans at home and abroad.

The process of making homeownership a reality can be quite daunting whether you live on the island or are purchasing from overseas. We asked Frances Ross of the Jamaica National Group to guide us through the general steps of securing a loan to acquire property in Jamaica and highlight those considerations peculiar to Jamaica.

Renderings of the new Whitehouse Beach Club community in Westmoreland developed by JN Preferred Partner, Moorland Development Company Ltd.

Step 1 Pre-approval Getting pre-approved with a financial institution gives you a good idea of your purchasing power.

To establish this: ü Prove your identity – birth certificate, valid passport, ü Verify income, assets, liabilities and provide a full credit history. Requirements differ for employed and self-employed individuals n

n n

When you know how much you can borrow, establish what percentage of the purchase price your financial institution/ lender will finance.

Then start looking for a home in your price range taking into account the additional costs you will incur at the start.

Keep in mind a pre-approval letter is valid for 3 months. Other documents are date sensitive and will expire after three months. Please confirm what these are with your mortgage JUNE 2018

29

Critical Items to Note

n n

n

n If there are any problems with the title, these must be rectified prior to closing and/or according to the requirements of the lender.

officer. Requirements may differ from lender to lender.

When you decide on your property, have a conversation with the seller to discuss/negotiate price and terms.

Once you are in receipt of the Sale Agreement do not sign until your attorney has reviewed it and explained the terms to which you are agreeing.

Once you sign, the Agreement contains specific conditions which you must fulfill. Among those conditions is a specific time to: (a) complete, (b) provide a Letter of Commitment if you are raising a mortgage and (c) provide the appropriate undertaking to assure payment of the balance for a cash purchaser.

n The acquisition of a house is a major investment and it is highly recommended that you have an attorney representing your interests. Please ensure

Step 2

the attorney selected has the required skills and

Assessment of Security and Submission of the Mortgage Application.

experience in dealing with Real Estate matters in Jamaica.

n If the loan being sought is to finance construction, you must ensure that requisite personnel with the required expertise are in place to monitor and ensure the funds are spent appropriately. Examples of these professionals include the architect, civil & electrical engineers, quantity surveyor, contractor.

n If you plan to utilize the services of a realtor to help you find property, they should be licensed with the Real Estate Board of Jamaica.

n If purchasing property in a new development where construction is not yet complete, the

The quality and status of the security is assessed through a variety of documents, to name a few: certificate of title, valuation report by a valuator approved by the lender, surveyor’s identification report provided by a Commissioned Land Surveyor and property tax certificate.

The type of security is also important. Is it land, land with infrastructure, a standalone home, an apartment or townhouse?

Your mortgage officer will provide a checklist of documents specific to the security you are ready to purchase.

The mortgage officer will submit all required documents once they have been received. The Underwriting Department will assess the submission and further advise, if there are additional requirements.

If there are none, they will approve the loan and provide a Letter of Commitment within approximately 10 working days.

developer must be approved by the Real Estate Board in order to pre-sell. The developer upon request may provide a copy of this approval.

Step 3 Closing Proceedings n

A monthly mortgage payment generally contains three components:

n n

1. Principal and interest on the loan value 2. Peril/Home owner’s insurance based on the replacement value of the security if it is land with building. The first year’s premium usually becomes payable with your closing costs.

3. Life insurance on the loan value

30

JUNE 2018

Once your mortgage has been approved and a Letter of Commitment received, the vendor’s attorney will then communicate with your attorney if you have one to initiate the closing procedure.

If you do not have an attorney, the vendor’s attorney will liaise with the lender’s attorney to initiate closing.

If the property being purchased is in a new development, the vendor must satisfy the lender that the conditions of building and subdivision approval have all been complied with.

Closing involves transferring title to the property to the purchaser and registering the mortgage on the title. When this is completed, the title is returned with the endorsements to the lender’s attorney who will then ensure all requirements have been fulfilled. The title is then sent to the Lender for the loan to be disbursed. The entire process takes approximately 10-12 weeks. CIJ

Jamaica YOUR PLACE TO DO BUSINESS

Contributed by JAMAICA PROMOTIONS CORPORATION

View of Kingston Harbour, 7th largest natural harbour in the world and the Kingston Container Terminal

I

deally located in the centre of the Caribbean, Jamaica is the largest English-speaking island in the region and the third largest overall.

with a solid investment base for their Caribbean operations, which will allow them to seamlessly tap into the North and South American markets as well as the rest of the world.

Abundantly endowed with natural resources such as rich mineral deposits of bauxite, high quality limestone and marble, the country covers a total area of 10,991 sq. km (4,244 sq. miles).

In the capital city of Kingston, investors will discover a cosmopolitan centre of commerce and culture that is globally connected and perfectly primed for business.

Beyond its vibrant culture and natural beauty, Jamaica’s value lays in its business-friendly environment, educated and trained workforce, stable democracy, solid infrastructure and strategic location.

It is home to the world’s seventh largest natural harbour – Kingston Harbour - which enjoys significant maritime traffic due to its ease of access to the Panama Canal shipping lanes.

The island is within a four-hour flight radius of over half a billion of the world’s population across the Western Hemisphere.

Leveraging its port and logistics capacity and proximity to key markets, Jamaica is excellently positioned to become a major multi-modal logistics hub in the region, particularly given recent investments that have enabled the country to host post-Panamax vessels.

Situated at the nexus of the major air and sea routes into the Caribbean Basin, Jamaica provides transnational corporations (TNCs)

JUNE 2018

31

5 KEY SECTORS FOR INVESTMENT With its prime location providing excellent investment and trade opportunities and numerous incentives for international companies doing business with Jamaica, the Jamaican government focuses on five (5) key sectors, which have great projects for investments especially with duty free incentives on the importation of goods and products, income tax credits and other lucrative benefits for doing business in Jamaica.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Jamaica leads as the Caribbean’s ideal location for BPO investment. There are currently over 50 companies that offer BPO services in the country, and among these firms are global industry players such as Conduent (formerly Xerox), Teleperformance, Vistaprint, Hinduja Global Solutions and Sutherland Global Services (SGS) as well as home-grown entities such as ItelBPO.

Tourism

Logistics

Jamaica’s brand as a leading tourist destination provides the perfect setting for investment, boasting global hotel brands from across the world. The breathtakingly beautiful scenery, worldclass accommodations and attractions, rich culture and signature warm hospitality of the people combine to give Jamaica an irresistible appeal. In 2017, Jamaica attracted more than 4 million tourists to the island.

With the expansion of the Panama Canal, Jamaica is poised to benefit from new and innovative commercial ventures as it seeks to position itself to join Rotterdam, Dubai and Singapore as the fourth node in the international logistics chain. The country’s location in proximity to major East-West shipping lanes and direct connections to all regional ports means Jamaica’s Logistics Hub will satisfy the demand for global-standard logistics capacity serving the Eastern Seaboard of the US.

Agriculture

Manufacturing

Jamaica is an ideal location for agricultural and/or agribusiness-related investment. The expansive local market bolstered by millions of visiting tourists annually, the increasing demand for high quality Jamaican produce overseas, a network of trade agreements and the country’s proximity to key export markets gives investors the opportunity to earn high returns on their investment in the country.

With Jamaica being located at the hub of air and sea routes in the Caribbean, the country is ideally placed for exportoriented, niche manufacturing and assembly operations. Under the Jamaica Logistics Hub initiative, there will be significant opportunities for business interests to be integrated into the global supply chain, particularly in keeping with the natural resources of the country.

To learn more about investing in these key sectors connect with the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), www.tradeandinvestjamaica.org. CIJ

Jamaica’s road networks are being upgraded to facilitate ease of travel across the island. (Images on pages 31-32 courtesy of Brian Lundy).

Be one of the thirty volunteers who will join us on the Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation school build in Port Antonio, Jamaica.

JULY 10-15, 2018 The mission of Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation is to improve the lives of the next generation of Jamaicans by creating a world-class education system through investment in infrastructure, resource materials and expertise.

For more information visit

helpinghandsjamaica.com or contact Natasha Borota @ 416.516.9898 @Handshelpjamaica #HHJFBuilds

@Helpinghandsja

Derrick Cotterell SUCCESS THROUGH INTEGRITY AND HARD WORK

D

espite a fourteen-year term at GraceKennedy—one of Caribbean’s largest conglomerates— and all the professional accomplishments, Derrick Cotterell said, that it was not where his dreams and aspirations were. In fact, he had an entrepreneurial vision, and was waiting for an opportune moment to pursue it.

Shortly after leaving corporate Jamaica in 1998, he formed Derrimon Trading Company Limited— a distribution company of bulk commodities.

“It was something I always wanted to do,” said Cottrell who admits “I was always an entrepreneur.”

According to the man whose company models the art of vertical integration and is one of the popular success stories of capitalization on the Jamaica Junior Stock Exchange (JSE), Derrimon Trading Company Limited was founded on two traits—relationship and trust.

“We have always had good customer relationships,” he said. “Very importantly, people trusted me, and [a] lot of business was done on that trust,” he added.

In 2000, Cotterell’s trust in his own staff was betrayed when he found that all the stock he had stored at the warehouse was stolen by an employee.

It was a year of setbacks for the entrepreneur.

His father also passed away suddenly. This forced Cotterell to take a break from Derrimon Trading and dedicate his attention to fully taking over the gas station, which he co-owned with his dad, and which was undergoing several challenges at the time.

Crediting good relationships and trust, Cotterell secured a contract in 2002 with the Jamaican arm of Nestlé, the world’s largest food and Beverage Company, to be a sub-distributor in four parishes on the island. This signaled the rebirth of Derrimon and helped to propel the business to new heights.

“I started with 1 million dollar credit line, which over the years grew to 100 million dollars,” Cottrell said.

In 2006, Derrimon Trading Ltd. hit a major milestone when sales crossed the billion-dollar mark.

Getting to that threshold was not an automatic process, but rather the result of intentional strategizing.

Recognizing that trading is a game of high volumes and that diversification of the company’s portfolio are keys to being relevant, he enlisted the expertise of Winston Thomas in 2006 as general manager to streamline the business operations for greater efficiencies and to devise a sustainable growth path.

In 2009, Derrimon acquired Sampars Cash ‘N’ Carry, one of the island’s largest wholesale outfits and strengthened the company’s presence in the retail space.

Derrick Cotterell, founder & CEO of Derrimon Trading Limited.

(Images by Paul Aking Studio)

In 2011, they purchased Kerr’s Enterprise Cold Storage which was rebranded as Sampars Outlet Washington Boulevard. This serves as the main hub for the group’s cold storage operation.

More acquisitions followed. The company bought a distributing operation facility on West Street in downtown Kingston, followed by the opening of the Mandeville and Old Harbour Sampars stores.

Derrimon also acquired Caribbean Flavours and Fragrances, further diversifying the company’s portfolio into manufacturing.

In December 2013, Cotterell took the company public, raising over J$150 million from its IPO and listed Derrimon Trading Ltd. on the Jamaica Junior Stock Exchange (JSE).

The preparation work to list his firm on the JSE, Cotterell said, “began the moment the government announced the scheme in 2009 to woo privately held enterprises on the JSE Junior Market.

“The process of listing [the company] began three or four years before. More than garnering funds to grow the business, the objective was to ensure the longevity of the company,” he shared.

This longevity he added, “depended on corporate governance, which JUNE 2018

35

needed to be strengthened. It doesn’t make sense if the company doesn’t go beyond my life time [and] that was the motivation,” he said of taking Derrimon public.

With his mastermind team they implemented strategies to build the sustainability of the company, and appointed Ian Kelly as the executive director to fulfill that task.

In 2013 when Derrimon first listed on the JSE, the company’s Book Value was J$78 million. Five years later, the Book Value has risen to over J$1 billion and the company has expanded operations to eight locations.

Cotterell extols the collective vision and wisdom of his team for opening new doors for Derrimon Trading.

The quest to build good relationships, he says, has paid dividends beyond the bottom line. The communities where his businesses are located form an integral part of their operations.

“Wherever we have operations we have built very good relationships with the people in the communities. Whether we are downtown, on Marcus Garvey Drive, or at Cross Roads, the people are people and they are all the same,” he reasoned.

“We help the youth with educational programs, help kids go to school, and we have initiated and supported all kinds of programs that help to develop the community.”

The company collaborates with community churches and supports programs on healthcare and elder care.

“We are not isolated,” Cotterell remarked. “I treat people as I would like people to treat me,” the Derrimon founder and CEO affirmed.

The company promotes these virtues among its employees who are all inculcated in its vision and mission.

“We want that the vision and the mission are not merely words; that they become a part of their lives, and help them as they go along their professional careers,” he said.

A strong advocate for mentorship, Cotterell avails this service to current and even former employees.

“People need a place to begin their dream, and those who show discipline, we encourage them to go pursue those dreams,” he said.

Of the most important lessons he can impart from his life experiences, he references the notion that people do business with people they know, like and trust.

“At the end of the day,” Derrick Cotterell advised, “your success boils down to your integrity, and how honestly you can do your work.” CIJ

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TRAVEL SIMPLE “It may sound like a lofty goal, but for those of us who travel frequently, it’s a life mission.”

- Sonja M. Salmon, Founder Ebby Rane Greetings,

My personal story is about Canada, my country of birth, and Jamaica, my family heritage and a source of inspiration. I started this company out of need. As a corporate lawyer, I traveled weekly for work but could never find a carryon that suited me. I wanted something that was more than an empty box. A bag that worked as hard as I did, so I designed The Quartermaster myself.

I decided to name the company after my two Jamaican grandfathers, Ebby Salmon and Clarence Rainford. They inspired me in many ways, but their belief “that everyone deserves opportunity,” lies at the foundation of this business. As a child of Jamaican parents, I know firsthand what it means to be given opportunities and to dream beyond your current circumstances.

Ebby Rane is proud to support women in developing countries around the world to be businesswomen. While helping busy executives travel with efficiency, simplicity and style is the core of our business, supporting women with the gift of opportunity is what drives us every day.

Sincerely, Sonja M. Salmon Founder, Ebby Rane www.ebbyrane.com

Comedy THE BUSINESS OF

Corporate director turned comedian shares insights on monetizing your talent

by KEISHA JOHNSON

C

omedy is big business. Forbes 2017 list of top earning comedians last year took home revenues ranging from US$15 million per annum earned by Sebastian Maniscalo to US$69 million hauled in by Jerry Seinfeld.

A common thread among the world’s highest paid comedians, apart from hard work, is a diversified revenue stream. They’re not only doing stand-up live shows but movies, TV gigs, commercials and other endorsements plus DVDs and major deals for online content distributors like Neflix.

Canadian-Jamaica comedian, Jay Martin just about fell of his chair laughing when I asked where he lands on the top earner charts.

“I’m not there yet,” he managed to finally whisper when he composed himself. But don’t be fooled, Jay’s got the work ethic, talent and strategy to get there. And he’s working hard at it.

“He puts on good shows, brings high profile people, is in high demand for various awards shows and fundraisers. I am proud to call him friend,” said Roger Dundas, owner of ByBlacks marketing company and a former publicist for Jay Martin.

The Bell director turned full-time comedian and event producer is known for packing out shows in Toronto, sharing his stage with new talent and legends alike and diversifying his brand to give fans an ‘experience’.

Experiences like the annual Mother’s Day Trinidad vs. Jamaica comedy clash with its eclectic cast of local and Caribbean comedians egged on by a very competitive crowd and sound clashes between Jamaican and Trini DJs. Now in its 15th year, the show remains sold out at every staging.

BRAND IDENTITY “When you come to my shows you’re not only getting the guy that stands up and makes you laugh, I am going to make you dance, sing, I am going to bring out a game show, make you think and I am going to bring all levels of entertainment to you to give you an experience,” Jay says with a bit of sparkle in his eyes.

His entire business model is based on diversification, reflected in the name of his brand ‘Our Flavour’. The production company stages an annual roster of live shows, parties, boat cruises and international vacation trips.

They’ve filled out commercial flights to Jamaica and Trinidad. This December they are taking fans to Dubai for ‘the experience of a lifetime’. Jay is also pitching four sitcoms to national networks and is currently shopping his first movie, Destination Wedding.

The title pays homage to the catalyst of his entertainment career, which the savvy comic said got started when childhood friends Jackie and Wayne Issacs trusted him to emcee their wedding 21 years ago. Since then he’s emceed 615 weddings and still counting.

“One year I did 50 weddings, I had my suits on rotation,” the very down-to-earth and affable entertainer joked of a job that he considers the mainstay of his entertainment career.

Canadian-Jamaican comedian, entertainer and producer Jay Martin at Harlem Underground in Toronto, Canada

“I still do weddings because they keep me sharp and build my fan base bigger,” he inclined.

Jay tapped into this bit of marketing genius early in his entertainment career when he made the jump from corporate to the stage full-time and gave himself an ultimatum that if 2-3 weeks passed without any bookings he would rejoin the corporate world. To date he’s not had to go back.

LESSONS FROM CORPORATE “I took all the attributes I learned from the corporate structure and applied it to my day-to-day life and to my entertainment world. I applied the coaching and accountability. I gave myself month end reports to say I made this much, I got this many calls. How am I cold calling to get new business, how am I keeping my old customers happy, how am I going to get new customers?”

“And then I tried a simple procedure. At every wedding I emceed I would put business cards on the sweet table, count them and walk away, because some people in our culture don’t like to tell you how great you are,” he reasoned. But everybody loves dessert and visits the sweet table. So people would take a card and not have to have any awkward face-to-face conversation with you,” he further explained.

“For 10 years, customers would call me based on a wedding I did.

What I didn’t realise was [that] I was building a fan base of 200 people per wedding. And that allowed me to grow a lot faster in the community and to be seen by more people.

“People sitting there would say, this guy is amazing, maybe he would do my church event, or my daughter’s sweet 16, or my corporate event etc. It just expanded and got wider and got me travelling,” Jay revealed.

Dundas then commented of Jay’s work ethic.

He also diligently nurtured his fan base, sending them emails and offering incentives for referrals. People loved him even more.

It’s a recurring theme about the comedian’s professional reputation.

Jay Martin soon became known as the renaissance man and was dubbed the fastest rising comedian of all time for headlining comedy clubs, getting appearances at casinos and touring with Russel Peters within his first six months as a comedian.

“Jay always does his homework. He can emcee on the fly, works very fluidly and doesn’t get flustered,” underscored Natasha Borota, founder of IT Factor that manages the Pinball Clemons Foundation and several celebrity charity events where Jay emcees from time to time.

PROFESSIONAL REPUTATION

“He puts on a clean show without bringing any negativity or profanity and that’s rare these days. At our gala he really spoke to the people in the room with his experience and is able to morph into the room at an instance and I really appreciate that,” added Borota who first met the comedian when he worked as a sales director at Bell.

“He’s funny as hell,” blurted Nadine Miller who worked with Jay backstage on various projects, when asked about her encounter with the comedian. “He transcends cultures. He’s very down to earth and treats everyone as a human being, you can put your hat on him when you can’t say that of everybody in the arts industry,” she remarked.

“I know it’s hard to believe this but he’s actually funnier off stage in regular conversation,” Dundas who is working with Jay to host a comedy festival in Jamaica remarked of their many times together.

“He’s a very hard working person… one of the hardest working people in Toronto and always tries to put on one of the best shows possible,” 40

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RESILIENCE & DIVERSITY Jay is the first to admit all his savvy came at a price.

Humiliated when no one in a crowd of 8000 laughed at anything he said at his first appearance on the Halifax Comedy Festival, in the first year of his career, he immediately enlisted himself in a writing course,

Jay Martin in character as the comic’s Jamaican cousin, Heverton.

not to learn how to write, but to learn how to make ‘white’ people laugh.

“When I told the teacher why I was there he said he’d never heard anything like that before. And then he said, don’t worry. Nobody understood Bernie Mac when he started out but when you are good people will learn to understand you. It was the best example he could have given because in all honesty, not even black people could understand Bernie Mac when he started but he was soon co-starring with Ashton Kutcher and appearing in Oceans 11 etc.,” Jay referenced.

Since then connecting with any audience has become another masterful craft in the Jay Martin arsenal. He’s able to transcend age, race, religion and connect with the most diverse of audiences.

“You have no idea how difficult it is to make a 7-year old and a 77-year old laugh at the same joke and not make it convoluting or confusing,” he said, revealing that another key lesson he learned from Russel Peters is that the most effective use of dialects and accents is while playing a character that speaks that way.

“I tell you this, if you don’t diversify your art form in any business aspect, as a person of culture you will only appeal to your own

people and yes they can make you rich, but if you don’t give yourself a chance to be seen and heard by everybody—by a wider bracket— you’re cutting yourself off,” Jay advised.

UNLEARN AND RELEARN Learning to manage budgets and monetize your talent to run like a business is another lesson the comedian shared that he learnt through a baptism of fire.

“2010 was my roughest year. I brought Cedric the Entertainer, considered the King of comedy to Toronto. Everything was rolling well.

Then the venue changed, got bigger, the cost got bigger, ticket price got bigger and the demand for Cedric in Toronto was not as strong at that ticket price. It. Did. Me. In,” he said, counting those last four words.

“I was in financial ruin. I scraped and borrowed and threw parties to make up the difference. I spent a lot of times on my knees praying, ‘God guide me if this is what I am supposed to be doing’. I kept scraping by and it wasn’t easy. For the first time I thought maybe I should go back to corporate,” Jay admitted.

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“When you start to add these all up, your personal value rose. I never thought about these things in that construct before. I thought every place is every place [with no price differentiation]. But these are things that real business people factor in their business equation.

So I had to unlearn the way I did things and relearn them and give myself a value and then relay that to my clients,” Jay detailed.

There was obvious push back at first from some clients but Jay admits he had to become comfortable running a tighter ship and honouring his own value.

“It was hard at first, when you are desperate and you want to make money. But my work allowed me to be sharper, funnier, on point and pay more attention to detail for your day. It got to the point where I decided, I’m putting in two hours to study every day to ensure my game is on point so that I am better than everybody else.

“So when I am charging more and someone says you charge too much, I say thank you very much but I know I am the best and I really believe that because I put all the effort into being the best.

The Apollo taught him “if your friends and family won’t pay to come and see you, why should we.”

How did you get back on your feet I asked?

“Unlearn and relearn,” he responded resolutely. “I think that is something everyone should do. I took a course about managing yourself. It was a very difficult course… a six-week program offered by the [Canadian] government where they paid you to open a business but you had to do it their way. And that was the TSN turning point,” he commented.

“To get in the course you had to show $5000 in your account. I had to convince someone to lend me $5000 to believe in myself. And when you have someone else’s money riding on you, you have to deliver,” he continued.

“We all think we do things successfully, and base on our success, we think that determines how well we did it. But sometimes people get success without doing things the right way,” and that was the mistakes he was determined not to repeat.

“In terms of unlearning and relearning, the program taught me to learn my value and to make everything value cost. So if I am going to write new material and spend three hours for your wedding, you have to pay me to drive to your wedding, to be there and to perform and to get back from your wedding.

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“When you believe you are number one, you feel like number one and act like number one, people start to treat you like number one and I believe people like that kind of confidence. For me it’s not being cocky, it’s getting the job done,” he asserted.

DREAM TEAM AND PAYING IT FORWARD Surrounding himself with a team that understands his vision and his brand and who is willing to grow together is another essential key he credits for his success.

“I don’t know where I would be without my team,” he said of his mastermind Jason Kwame, Eugenia Olucole and his legal advisors.

“They are great. We respect each other and we don’t cross function unless someone is not there.”

Finally, he says paying it forward to give up-and-coming artistes a platform to showcase their talent and build their fan base is something more artistes should do. “It’s what was done for me. That’s why I give others the opportunity to develop their craft and a platform to grow a fan base to grow their business. I also coach them, give them business knowledge and educate them on what to do to let people know their worth,” Jay Martin shared.

Of the underlying lesson of his career he said, “The best thing I saw when I went to perform at The Apollo the first time is a sign that said, “If your family and friends won’t pay to come and see you, why should we. That said to me, you haven’t made it till people will pay to see you and while you don’t want to weigh your talent on money, it’s the way it is.” CIJ

PEOPLE WHO STAY

Dr. David Picking

TRADES A CAREER IN THE UK FOR A LEGACY IN JAMAICA

“T

he decision to come to Jamaica was one that had evolved over a number of years,” says Dr. David Picking, Research Fellow at the Natural Products Institute (NPI), University of the West Indies, (UWI)

Mona.

Picking who is currently conducting research to support safe medicinal plant use within Jamaica’s healthcare system and ultimately aid the development of a successful Jamaican nutraceutical industry, has a lifelong romance with the island. His wife Grace is of Jamaican heritage. Her parents had settled in the United Kingdom in the early 1950’s, as part of the Windrush Generation.

Prior to marrying Grace, he had visited Jamaica as a tourist multiple times, exploring the island’s ‘off the beaten track,’ rather than its ‘allinclusives’, as he puts it.

“Our connection with Jamaica grew with a couple of visits and our subsequent marriage at the tiny chapel on the grounds of Trident Castle in 2000,” he said.

After their nuptials, they returned to the UK where he completed five years of training, earning a second degree and qualified as a naturopath and medical herbalist, at the School of Integrated Health, University of Westminster, in central London. He also worked parttime, as a member of the digital marketing team for Europe’s largest direct marketing agency, WWAV Rapp Collins.

The moment David learned of the opportunity to study and research the very rich medicinal plant culture that exists in Jamaica, he moved on it.

In 2008 he was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship to complete JUNE 2018

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“However,” he added, “a number of our UK-based Jamaican family members were very nervous about the idea of us moving here.”

Those family members were apprehensive and nervous about the perceived levels of crime and violence, and negative stories from some older returning Jamaicans.

“However, having lived and raised a family in London we were not put off and took the plunge,” he said.

Living the Jamaican experience became an adventure for this family and a transition nonetheless.

Their daughter had just started high school and had to quickly adjust to Jamaican all girls - St Andrews High School.

“There were lots of cultural changes from London to Kingston,” Picking said. “Treya had never heard the description ‘browning’ before she came to Jamaica.

“Isaac was still in primary school and moved to St. Andrews Prep. He has now spent more of his life in JA than in the UK and out of all of us is now definitely more Jamaican than English,” he said.

They also had to recalibrate their pace of life and get accustomed to the bureaucracy and the time taken to complete everyday tasks compared to London.

“Other things that stand out are adapting to the ‘write and lef’ culture of the Jamaican police and other aspects that are so prevalent and a day-to-day experience for most Jamaicans,” Picking said.

TOP: The Picking family on arrival in Jamaica 2008. BOTTOM: Picking family takes Dr. David’s parents on a tour of Jamaica recently.

doctoral studies in biochemistry at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus.

“As a mature student with a young family it [was] a life-changing decision to go back to ‘school’ having previously worked in the fastpaced and well-paid world of digital media,” he said. “But Jamaica was hard to say no to.”

“One of the key factors in deciding to come to Jamaica was having children of mixed heritage and a desire for them to experience both their English and Jamaican heritage,” he said.

“My wife, Grace and I and our two children, Treya and Isaac, came to Jamaica in January of 2008. When we arrived Treya was 12 and Isaac was just six years old,” he reflected.

Moving from the United Kingdom to Jamaica was not a total culture shock as their travels to the island and their family connections had given the couple a pretty good awareness of Jamaica, its culture and people.

“Most [of our] perceptions were very positive, the stunning beauty of the island, the warmth and humor of Jamaican people and the rich culture,” Picking said.

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“I don’t think anyone is really aware of just how much your life will change and the types of challenges you will face when you move to a different country and immerse yourself in a different culture,” Picking said.

“The first few months were taken up with sorting out schools, a home and getting myself established at the university,” he explained.

But, in all of it, despite its contradictions, Jamaica’s positives far outweigh the negatives.

“If this was not the case we would not still be here,” he said. “I think Grace and I knew from early on that we were likely to stay on and make this our home,” he admitted.

Picking’s Commonwealth Scholarship was for three years, but it took six years to successfully complete and defend his PhD. “Throughout my PhD I was based at NPI under the co-supervision of Dr. Rupika Delgoda, Research Director at NPI and Dr. Sylvia Mitchell, Senior Lecturer in the Biotechnology Centre,” he informed.

After the completion of his PhD, he was offered an initial one-year contract as a researcher, followed by a three-year contract and the position of Research Fellow at the Natural Products Institute (NPI) at UWI. “I think a book or two could be written about the experiences and journey at UWI,” he said.

“Former prime minster Bruce Golding attended our Faculty Conference in May [2018] and summed it up brilliantly by saying that he had thought a life in Jamaican politics was tough and challenging but nothing had prepared him for the culture and challenges of operating at UWI, in his capacity as Honorary Distinguished Fellow since 2014.

“That being said, I am eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to complete my PhD at UWI and to have been able to undertake work that, hopefully, has value and contributes to the wider society,” Picking said.

His PhD focused initially on a national survey of medicinal plant use

by Jamaican householders. The work was undertaken as part of the Traditional Medicines in the Islands (TRAMIL) regional program— throughout the Caribbean—to document traditional medicine, which has seen surveys completed in over thirty countries.

The TRAMIL network aims to document, validate and expand medicinal plant use within healthcare systems across the Caribbean. Through this first survey, UWI was able to complete Jamaica’s contribution to the TRAMIL database and online pharmacopeia (www.tramil.net) and to add to the body of knowledge from over 50 surveys completed across the Caribbean region to date.

“Ultimately the goal is to support the greater use of medicinal plants in primary health care, particularly in those countries where access to and/or the ability to afford pharmaceutical drugs may be limited,” Dr. Picking informed.

Dr. David Picking and Dr. Ina Vandebroek show off their book: Popular Medicinal Plants in Portland and Kingston, Jamaica.

He is in the planning stages of moving the research—initially with two of the plants tested in the lab—to undertake a clinical study, which if successful, will be a first for UWI. “We recently won, one of three grants awarded for collaborative research with South African researchers, part of a bilateral agreement between the Jamaican and South African governments,” he informed.

Dr. Picking has also collaborated with Dr. Ina Vandebroek from New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). Their first project involved documenting medicinal plant use in Windsor Forest in Portland and Payne Land in Kingston.

The project was funded by a grant awarded to Dr. Vandebroek by National Geographic.

Results from the surveys were documented in a community book. Five hundred copies were printed, half of which were donated to the Jamaican Library Service for distribution to high schools and libraries across the island. Copies were also distributed to community members.

Dr. Picking prize the collaboration with Dr. Vandebroek as one of the proudest moments of his career to date because of the final book they were able to produce and circulate.

Of moving to ‘the land of wood and water’ the British national says he has absolutely no regrets.

Jamaica, over the years, has influenced his work immeasurably. He arrived with five years of training in the clinical practice of naturopathy and western herbal medicine (phytotherapy) but in the last ten years he has become an apprentice, immersed in the medicinal knowledge and skills of ordinary Jamaican’s and those skilled in the use of medicinal plants to maintain health and treat sickness.

On the family front, each member of the Picking family has grown into Jamaica as much as this adopted home has grown into them - and life seems to be moving to a crescendo.

Dr. Picking’s daughter Treya is now a wildlife conservationist based at the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and his son Issac, who is now 16, is evolving as DJ Zig Zag rocking the turntables.

As they say, life on the Rock is criss man!

CIJ

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MSMEs

JAMAICA’S ENGINE FOR GROWTH

Couture design by Branson Entrepreneur and Creative Director of House of Clay, Keisha Allen. MSMEs like Allen’s account for 97.6 percent of all classified and registered enterprises in Jamaica.

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W

hen the dedicated MSME Office in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF) was established early in 2016, part of the rationale given by the Ministry was that the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) sector was “a strategic priority, requiring focused and sustained policy support.”

The MSME Office was established to provide a structured mechanism in the ministry to ensure improved coordination and collaboration among ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) on policy initiatives within the sector. The Office therefore serves as the focal point for implementation and monitoring of the MSME and entrepreneurship policy.

The White Paper for the Government of Jamaica’s (GoJ) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) & Entrepreneurship Policy (2013) updated in 2017 and which, in part, led to the establishment of the MSME Office, estimates that classified, tax-paying MSMEs account for 97.6 percent of all classified and registered enterprises in Jamaica (TAJ, 2015)*. It said when this is combined with over 412,000 ownaccount (self-employed) workers (STATIN, 2015)** it becomes evident that MSMEs are a significant portion of the Jamaican economy.

But despite their economic significance, MSMEs have always had challenges that hinder their growth and development. The GoJ said, therefore, it was critical and logical that it should place MSME development at the forefront of the country’s economic policy agenda.

The challenges facing MSMEs in Jamaica are both internal and external to their operations. Many businesses are characterized by entrepreneurs that lack marketing capacity, operational capacity, business leadership, financial acumen, communication skills, and are generally unfamiliar with available business support services.

Other constraints include: inadequate access to financial resources for investment and working capital; gaps in training and business skills; low levels of technology usage to improve productivity; and, in some cases, lack of competitiveness, resulting in business failures and instability among some MSMEs. The prevalence of business informality among Jamaican MSMEs is one of the challenges to the sector that the MSME Office has prioritized, noting that it continues to pose a specific challenge to the growth and development of the sector.

According to the MSME Office, “Informal operators are obliged to remain invisible to the legal system and these enterprises face restrictions in carrying out business activities and this, in turn, stymies growth. Informality limits access to support services, financing, as well as certain markets. It is, therefore, important that GoJ eventually seek to have a precise definition of formality in the Jamaican context and that simplified processes are developed to make registration attractive to MSMEs, particularly the ‘micro’ category.”

In the final analysis, according to the MSME Office: “Where MSME development in Jamaica is concerned, it can no longer be business as usual. Investing in a vibrant MSME sector is a vital ingredient for employment creation, the development of new and innovative enterprises, and for overall economic growth.

“MICAF is committed to the task ahead, whilst being cognizant of the fact that the MSME sector is at the heart of the sustainable and inclusive economic growth of Jamaica.”

n n

* Tax Administration of Jamaica (TAJ) ** Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN)

CIJ

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JAMAICA TO LAUNCH

Micro Stock Exchange

by GLEN MCLEISH

A

ccess to funding is an ongoing challenge for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) worldwide although according to the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), “formal and informal MSMEs make up over 90% of all firms and account on average for 60-70% of total employment and 50% of GDP.” In Jamaica, the picture is the same. Access to funding remains a sore point for small entrepreneurs who employ over 80 percent of the labour force. In the 2018/2019 Budget Debate, Minister of Finance Hon. Audley Shaw announced that plans are afoot to launch a micro stock exchange to facilitate small enterprises. This is welcome news for the MSME sector, but what are the pre-conditions for a successful micro exchange and how can MSMEs ready themselves to take advantage of using the platform to capitalize their businesses and contribute to a strengthened economy?

Before we deep dive, let’s get some context.

A stock market is a place where shares of public listed companies are traded. The primary market is where companies float shares to the general public in an initial public offering (IPO) to raise capital for their businesses. Like all markets, it puts individuals and businesses with funds to invest, in contact with entrepreneurs who need funds to build and expand their businesses. The shares are traded after they are listed on the exchange.

Jamaica has had a thriving stock market since its incorporation and start-up in 1968 and 1969 respectively. At present, the exchange has over one-hundred securities listed on its markets. The pinnacle of its achievements may well be its recognition by Bloomberg News as the top performing exchange, stating that “…its stock market had a better year than any other across the globe.”

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The Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) is not a single market but a collection of markets including the Junior Jamaica Stock Exchange, a Combined Market a, USD and a Bond Market among a few others.

WHAT ARE MICRO MARKETS? Micro markets exist in developed countries including the USA where they are referred to as “micro cap” stocks, which trade on what is referred to as the Over-the-Counter (OTC) market, as opposed to say the NYSE or NASDAQ and in Canada on the TSX, where they are referred to as small cap stocks.

In March 2017 the Tokyo Stock Exchange for example, launched a new stock index selecting 200 companies among small-to-mid-cap firms with high return on equity and operating profits as well as strong corporate governance.

Reports suggest that among other things, the launch was aimed at putting pressure on management to boost profitability and to encourage corporations to emphasize actions that are valued by equity shareholders. We should note that the minimum capitalization and other requirements will vary across countries and markets; some of the noted comparisons above refer to the principle of having different markets.

In the Jamaican context, a micro stock exchange would be for small and micro enterprises with capitalization of $5 million to $50 million.

This is because there, this market would fall in a hierarchy with the JSE followed by the Junior Market whose capitalization is $50 to $500 Million.

Jamaica’s Junior market has performed well since its launch, growing 2.7 times in the three years to April 2018, and has been as high as 3.14 times over the period, as at April 2017, with an index of 3,256. The big question is, can a micro market replicate or even surpass this performance?

Typically, micro stocks would have limited assets and operations, may be lower priced and trade in lower volumes relative to senior market stocks. However, the most far-reaching difference to the senior markets is that the companies on a Micro market are likely to have less public information available.

PRE-CONDITIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL MICRO MARKET As part of the process of listing on an exchange, including a micro exchange, businesses must develop and issue a prospectus. The JSE describes a prospectus as “a form of legal document that provides details about the investment offering. A prospectus normally contains the facts that an investor needs to make an informed investment decision.” Entrepreneurs also need to know that such a document has to secure legal and regulatory approvals, and therefore, has to meet minimal standards before it can be issued as an invitation to the public.

INTERNAL STANDARDS MSMEs SHOULD MEET BEFORE THEY LIST

CORE BUSINESS AND MARKETPLACE SAVVY CROSS TRAINING & SUCCESSION PLANNING SOUND REPORTING FRAMEWORK

6

BASIC

STANDARDS EXCELLENT INTERNAL ORGANIZATION FINANCIAL TRAINING

ORGANIZED ACCOUNTING

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In order to launch a viable micro exchange, however, there are many steps that need to be taken by all the stakeholders concerned, that is from the JSE at one end, to the entrepreneurs seeking funding at the other, and many other stakeholders in between including professionals like lawyers and accountants. The list of considerations discussed here is therefore not exhaustive.

Firstly, a structured look at the potential list of micro businesses that could be available for consideration would be needed to encourage and facilitate listing, as the development of a broad market is important to a successful launch and to the growth and sustainability of a micro exchange.

operations and marketing executive. Mentors would act as a sounding board for the micro business entrepreneurs to outline their ideas, identify risks and concerns and to aid in holding the entrepreneur to plans that have been agreed or, if required, to make the tough decisions, where business outturn and outlook recommend what needs to be done. Mentors can be the difference between success and failure of a business, particularly in highly competitive markets where operating margins are likely to be thin. Among other things, mentors provide guidance in relation to: n n

Perhaps one of the most critical changes small and micro businesses face in listing on an exchange, is the need to develop and sustain a reporting discipline, and with that, an understanding that the listing process effectively requires opening one’s business operations, its plan and results for the world to see. It therefore demands enhanced accountability and transparency in return for funding to expand business and enhance competitively its positioning.

n n

Development of business plans and the associated financial projections Help to interpret the impact of economic and financial changes on the business Financial and administrative management Identifying and leveraging value drivers for the particular business

A mentoring system would not be loose but would be highly formalized, forming a foundation for a sound micro enterprise system as a base for sustainable market growth development.

MINIMUM STANDARDS

THE BENEFITS OF A MICRO STOCK EXCHANGE

Micro entities, like other market aspirants, would be required to meet minimum operating, share issue and reporting standards, which would be set by the JSE. In preparation for such an exchange and for their listings, micro enterprises have other internal standards to also meet, including among other things :

Like full blown markets, micro exchanges have their advantages and core contributions that they make to their economies. At the macro level, micro businesses would be able to raise capital and contribute in a more formal way to the growth and development of the Jamaican economy. The existence of the exchanges and the fact that small business owners can aspire to listing, helps aspirants and their businesses to: n Create incentives to organize their businesses for wider markets, greater efficiencies to boost profitability and create wealth. n Be a positive force for employment creation. n Afford smaller investors—who would otherwise be shut out of the bigger markets—an opportunity to invest, as more micro enterprises on the market delivers the opportunity for diversification at that level. n Enhance interest in the markets generally and serve to boost investor education, as they bring in traditionally shut-out investors.

1. Clear understanding of their core businesses and knowing and understanding the market for their goods and services; 2. Good, but not expansive, internal organization so that functions such as purchases and sales, inventory, payables and receivables management and general administration (given size and resources) are appropriately established and sustained; 3. Cross training and succession planning so that the business is not single-person dependent, and operations can go on irrespective; 4. An accounting function that is well organized and that can produce the financial statements to the minimum acceptable standards for the market; 5. Financial training to minimum standards must also be established so that owners can read and understand Income Statements and Balance Sheets; interpretation of what the business results convey and the re-enforcement and or corrective steps to be taken, if needed; 6. A sound reporting framework, which for the most part, may be assured once the above conditions have been met.

MENTORING SYSTEM The creation of a formal channel, if it does not already exist, to provide mentoring and advisory services to Micro and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) could perhaps be one of the most valuable constructs in an architecture designed to assist micro businesses and ultimately, market sustainability.

CONCLUSION The international partners, and in this case the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), have consistently supported the Exchange as a source for capital access. Researchers including the Mona School of Business Management (MSBM) have pointed to the stock exchange as “good business for SMEs”. It is therefore reasonable that, other things being equal, a micro exchange, in adding another layer for businesses to access capital, augurs well for micro entities and by extension the Jamaican economy. The preparatory framework as referred to above is critical to establishing a sound foundation upon which micro businesses can source equity funding and contribute to a market that is viable and sustainable; thereby securing all the desired macroeconomic outcomes. CIJ

Similar to SME, the entrepreneur in a micro business, is at one and the same time, the general manager, human resources, finance, JUNE 2018

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Establishing a Corporation TO CO N D U CT BUSINESS IN JAMAICA

A

by WAYNE O. LEWIS

s a corporate/commercial lawyer and business lawyer in Canada I have noticed that many Canadian business owners are interested in expanding their businesses into Jamaica; just as many Jamaican business owners have expressed their interests in expanding their businesses into Canada. I have had the pleasure of working with both types of business owners.

In order to limit their personal liability and limit their tax exposure, Canadian business owners who are Canadian residents will retain the services of a corporate lawyer and tax accountant to organize and register a Canadian corporation. It is not uncommon that such a business owner will organize and register a Jamaican corporate entity when that business owner intends to conduct business in Jamaica. However, if the Canadian business owner becomes a direct shareholder of the Jamaican corporation he or she may be exposed to adverse tax consequences.

Generally, a Canadian resident is currently taxable on any distributions of income or capital gains that are realized in respect of a direct business investment outside of Canada without the benefit of the favorable foreign affiliate regime afforded to Canadian corporate owners of foreign companies.

They may also be taxable on income earned by the corporation outside of Canada even where such amounts have not been distributed. Canadian residents who have any investments in any other jurisdiction may be required to pay tax in accordance with the income tax rates of the Canadian government.

In order to address potential negative tax outcomes to Canadian residents who are conducting business in Jamaica, some Canadian business owners will first register a Canadian holding company. The shares in the Canadian corporation will be held by the Canadian

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business owner. Thereafter, the Canadian corporation will register and organize the Jamaican corporation and directly hold shares in the Jamaican corporation.

Therefore, the Canadian business owner will be a shareholder of the Canadian corporation, and the Canadian corporation will be the shareholder of the Jamaican corporation. This corporate structure may assist in deferring taxes that the Canadian business owner will be otherwise required to pay on a distribution of profits from, or a sale of, the Jamaican corporation. When the Jamaican corporation earns revenue, it can declare and pay out dividends to the Canadian Corporation at preferential withholding tax rates and generally the Canadian Corporation would not be subject to tax on such receipts.

Before you decide to engage in any business venture in Jamaica, we suggest that you first retain the services of a corporate/commercial lawyer and tax accountant for advice and guidance.

If you wish to have a detailed discussion about how you can structure your business for the purposes of conducting business in Jamaica, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. It will be a pleasure to meet with you. CIJ WAYNE O. LEWIS Papazian | Heisey | Myers, Barristers & Solicitors/Avocats Standard Life Centre, Suite 510, 121 King St. W., P.O. Box/C.P. 105, Toronto, ON M5H 3T9 Tel: 416 601 2705 | Mobile: 416 670 4581 Email: lewis@phmlaw.com

Explore Link buyers Get insight business and suppliers on Jamaica’s opportunities in global business in Jamaica markets climate

HEAD OFFICE, 18 Trafalgar Road, Kingston 10 Toll Free: +1 888 INVESTJA | 468-3785 +1 877 JAMVEST | 526-8378 (North America) 53

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tradeandinvestjamaica.org

by ALEX TVEIT

Vice President, Morrison Financial Limited

TIPS FOR PITCHING TO

Financiers and Investors

I

by ALEX TVEIT t’s normal to feel nerves setting in when presenting to financiers or potential investors. However, before making your pitch, you need to make sure that you are able to paint an accurate picture of your business.

The vast majority of entrepreneurs do not know how to proficiently present their business to an investor or financier. In fact, this even goes for brokers whose primary job is to present businesses to financial partners. Some miss the target completely and do not present any relevant material, resorting to forwarding a package mostly meant as a sales presentation for potential customers.

Financial partners are looking to evaluate whether or not to give you their money. They are most likely not interested in seeing the sales pitch that you give to customers, but are looking for you to make 54

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them understand why their money would be well invested in you and your business. Too often I see an otherwise good business fail because an opportunity is presented badly, so here are my tips to present to financiers or investors.

GUIDE THEM TO UNDERSTAND YOUR BUSINESS I will use an analogy which my partner has used for entrepreneurs on numerous occasions. Imagine that your business is a jungle. Without your guidance, anyone who enters your jungle will be completely lost and your primary job is to help guide them through to the other side.

This means that you should not take them on detours, loading your presentation with excess content or fluff and risk losing them along the way. Instead, take the most direct route to get them safely to the other side.

There is some exaggeration in the above, since a lot of financiers may already have relevant experience within your industry. But the truth is that they use this not only as a means to understand your business but also as a means to evaluate you as a potential client or partner.

They are trusting you with their money. The more comfort you can give them, the easier time they have believing that you know how to run your business.

TELL THEM MORE ABOUT YOURSELF I am not naturally extroverted so I fully understand the pressure entrepreneurs go through when presenting to potential financial partners. However, unless you are presenting on the Dragons Den, the party sitting opposite you will not expect perfection, with the only potential caveat being if you are in sales. They are interested in getting to know what makes you tick. Giving them a taste of your personality can be the key to keeping their attention throughout the meeting.

NARROW AND DIRECTED, NOT BROAD AND VAGUE It is very easy to get carried away when taking them through your business. Try to make sure that your presentation, either on paper or in person, is narrow and direct instead of broad and vague. This does not mean you should not have a lot of backup for your numbers. Any

funder will appreciate your ability to take them through the minute details of your business, and their due diligence team will need to go through them at a later stage. In your initial meetings with them, present a picture that is concise and to the point.

HONESTY AND TRANSPARENCY One of the things that I would discourage more than anything else is the proverbial ‘bait and switch’. When you make your pitch to potential financiers or investors, don’t skirt the facts. Present yourself and your business truthfully and honestly. If you present yourself one way, only for their due diligence team to find out that the picture is significantly different, you will most likely face rejection and lose credibility for any future contact.

At Morrison Financial, we encourage entrepreneurs and businesses who are not suitable during their initial presentation, to try again when they have made some suggested adjustments. It is not uncommon for us to accept a client or partner on a second or third try, after they were initially turned down. Never burn bridges, especially those that can help you access funds. CIJ Republished with permission from the author. Originally published in Futurpreneur.ca

WWW.SHOPSAMPARS.COM

DO YOUR GROCERY SHOPPING

FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME! WHY SEND MONEY?

SEND GROCERIES TO YOUR LOVED ONES IN JAMAICA FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME!

SAMPARS

TEL: (876) 923-8733 EMAIL: SALES@SAMPARSJA.COM

JUNE 2018

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J

Hot Spots

amaica has an endless supply of hotspots to stay, eat, play, relax and find adventure by day or night. You’ll need a lifetime to explore them all, especially with new ones popping up oh so frequently. So we thought we’d ask some folks who been there and done that and maybe bought a few T-shirts to share their favourite hangouts on the rock. In this issue, travel photo blogger Warren Brown, Business Development Director Adrian Bennett and Jamaica’s consummate brand ambassador Philip Rose give us a peek at their default places on the island to eat, stay and relax. We’d like to hear of yours too and maybe share them here next time.

Wouldn’t you like to be here? No stress, no cares. I’ll take that, even if just for a week at the Spa Retreat, Negril. A delightful hideaway for adults. (Image courtesy of the Jamaica Tourist Board).

Eat

TOP: Any meal is a treat at Pushcart Restaurant, Negril (image by Michael Condran). RIGHT: Kingston’s best place for seafood lovers any time of day is at Gloria’s Rendezvous in Port Royal (image

by Warren Brown). BOTTOM RIGHT: Pushcart, Negril serves up a mean grilled fish as well (image by Michael Condran).

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57

Stay

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TOP LEFT: In the Cotton Wood tree house at Hermosa Cove villas, Ocho Rios, you can’t help but rest at one with nature. BOTTOM LEFT: Simply breathtaking! The Hermosa Cove’s cascading pools at night. Who can resist? ABOVE: Cliff side villas at Rockhouse, Negril perch above the warm pristine waters of private coves below (image by Corey Hamilton).

BELOW: Aerial view of Spa Retreat Negril (image courtesy of Jamaica Tourist Board).

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Relax

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Jakes, St. Elizabeth— the symphony of crashing waves on this rock side boutique hotel does wonders for a weary soul. TOP LEFT: Goblin Hill villas, Port Antonio—a picturesque, serene hideaway to unplug from the world, play your favorite sport, do nothing or connect with nature. MIDDLE LEFT: Geejam Bushbar, Portland— this eclectic watering hole is ‘the’ spot for pensive me-time or carefree happy hour with your best friends. BOTTOM LEFT: Frenchman’s Cove, Portland— undisputedly an idler’s paradise if you ache to relax, be served and soak in the sun on a beach that embraces you like it’s all yours. (All images courtesy of Jamaica Tourist Board).

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RESOURCES MORRISON FINANCIAL p. 10 - 15

GLENFORD MCLEISH, CA, MBA, PMP

www.morrisonfinancial.com 8 Sampson Mews, Suite 202 Toronto, ON M3C 0H5 T: 416-391-3535 F: 416-391-4843

www.crichtonmullings.com Principal, Consulting Services CrichtonMullings & Associates Kingston, Jamaica +1876-946-1274 Atlanta, Georgia +1770-320-7786 Miami, Florida +1954-862-2250

GATES OF EDGEHILL

p. 49 - 51

p. 10 - 15

JERROLD J. JOHNSON p. 17 - 19

www.edgehillhomes.com info@edgehillhomes.com Jamaica: 1-876-348-9832 International: 1-800-987-7810

JAMAICA MORTGAGE BANK - JMB

p. 26 - 28

www.jmb.gov.jm Email: info@jmb.gov.jm T: 876-929-6350-2 F: 876-968-5428

www.jnbank.com Chief Representative Officer JN Canada Representative Office Email: Jerrold@jngroup.com T: 416-784-9657

FRANCES ROSS

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT & PLANNING AGENCY - NEPA

p. 29 - 30

www.jnbank.com Business Relationship Manager JN Bank, Preferred Developer and Real Estate Affiliate Programs 1-888-Get-JNBS or 876-438-5627

p. 21 - 23

www.nepa.gov.jm 10 & 11 Caledonia Avenue, Kingston 5, Jamaica Email: pubed@nepa.gov.jm T: 876-754-7540 Toll Free 888-991-5005 F: 876-754-9575

JAY MARTIN p. 38 - 42 www.Jaymartinent.com Our Flavour Management Email: Eugenia@ourflavour.com T: 647-828-8674

MSME OFFICE JAMAICA PROMOTIONS CORPORATION - JAMPRO p. 31 - 32

www.tradeandinvestjamaica.org

JAMAICA TOURIST BOARD – JTB

p. 56 - 61

MSME ALLIANCE

www.visitjamaica.com

WAYNE O. LEWIS

p. 46 - 47

Ministry of Industry, Com¬merce, Agriculture and Fisheries – MICAF 4 St. Lucia Avenue, Kingston 5, Jamaica T: 876-968-7116 Fax: 876-960-7422

p. 52

Papazian | Heisey | Myers, Barristers & Solicitors/Avocats Standard Life Centre, Suite 510, 121 King St. W., P.O. Box/C.P. 105, Toronto, ON M5H 3T9 T: 416 601 2705 | Mobile: 416 670 4581 | Email: lewis@phmlaw.com

p. 9

www.themsmealliance.org msmealliance@gmail.com T: 876-610-9371

GLORIA’S RENDEZVOUS, PORT ROYAL

p. 57

876-967-8066

HERMOSA COVE, OCHO RIOS

p. 58 - 59

https://hermosacove.com

HOUSE OF CLAY p. 46 GEEJAM BUSHBAR, PORTLAND

http://houseofclayja.com

p. 60 - 61

https://www.geejamhotel.com

SPA RETREAT, NEGRIL p. 56, 69 JAKES, ST. ELIZABETH p. 60 - 61

http://www.thespajamaica.com

https://jakeshotel.com

ROCKHOUSE, NEGRIL

p. 59

FRENCHMAN’S COVE, PORTLAND p. 60 - 61

http://www.rockhouse.com

http://www.frenchmanscove.com

PUSHCART RESTAURANT, NEGRIL http://www.rockhouse.com/eat

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p. 57

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