History in the Making
New World Record Attempt by Jamaican Company
It’s not very often that a company motivated by corporate good gets a shot at creating history and a World Record simultaneously. Inspired by Prime Minister Andrew Wholeness’s statement about “Building lives and livelihoods” and lessons learnt from the ecommerce National Delivery Solution (ENDS), Wipay Jamaica in partnership with Wishops Caribbean decided to go a step further in the onboarding of individuals and companies to the digital economy.
“We are making 1000 ecommerce websites available to every Jamaican who has a skill, sells a product, has an idea, owns a shop, or is desirous of ‘trying a ting’ online. We want people to embrace ecommerce as part of the new way of doing business. Wipay was the first company in Jamaica to bring Pan Chicken online. Now you can use your credit card to purchase pan chicken from ‘Shorty’ on Red Hills Road, Verol Scarlett in Portmore, or Pan Tucky’ in Montego Bay and sit at your house and wait for the delivery. Wipay did that.” - Kibwe Mcgann, Wipay Jamaica’s Country Manager
Christabelle Brown, Wishops General Manager, explained “Prior to Wishops, the ecommerce space has been dominated by Us-based solutions such as Shopify, Etsy and WIX. Caribbean entrepreneurs needed their own shop solution that was capable of processing payments online. Wishops, seamlessly integrates with Wipay’s payment technology, processes online payments to Jamaican bank accounts. Therefore, website owners no longer need to worry about how to get physical ‘cash’ in their hands from web sales.”
Brown also stressed that Wishops is the Caribbean’s first Zero Code site builder, using drag-and-drop technology. Entrepreneurs can build their websites without the need for a developer and without any coding experience.
“The Guinness World Record will not just be a credit to Wipay’s commitment to the Jamaican people, but if achieved, it will become another Jamaican fun fact and a symbol of national pride. Everyone who participates will be able to walk away knowing that they were a part of Jamaica’s historic attempt and that
their website was counted as part of a Guinness World Record” added Mcgann
In 2020, the UN Conference on
Trade and Development estimated that the global ecommerce market was valued at USD$25.6 Trillion while the Caribbean ecommerce market is valued at USD$5 Billion. In Jamaican dollar terms, this represents over JMD$700 billion.
“The 1000 website initiative was always intended to start in Jamaica; but as with everything Wipay, our solutions are designed for the Caribbean people. In the upcoming weeks, Wipay via Wishops will extend the opportunity to millions of people across the region, giving them the ability to partake in the digital revolution. “– CEO Aldwyn Wayne, and Founder of Wipay.
“Imagine if Jamaica could command 10% of the Caribbean ecommerce market share. That would translate to JMD$700 Million which would go a long way in jumpstarting the economy and quickening our road to recovery. Imagine if you could book and pay your gardener, nail tech or mechanic via their website using a credit card. Imagine how many lives and livelihoods would be impacted positively. We are in the age of a Digital Payment Revolution and Wipay is ready to advance our Jamaican people” – Kibwe Mcgann
Interested applicants can register via WWW.WISHOPSCARIBBEAN.COM, by clicking on the PROJECT 1000 banner at the top of the page. Only registered applicants will qualify for the FREE ecommerce-ready websites and will automatically become part of Jamaica’s Guinness World Record Attempt on Sunday, May 16, 2021.
Project 1000 is sponsored by Mastercard, First Global Bank, Wipay Jamaica and JAMPRO.