WILL THERE BE A POST-PANDEMIC BOOM?
Local entrepreneurs, small business owners gearing up
Jamaica’s small business owners and entrepreneurs are gearing up for the much-expected post-pandemic boom.
This was the position of local entrepreneurs and participants of the 2021 Investment Readiness Programme (IRP), hosted by First Angels Jamaica (FAJ) in partnership with Biztactics Ltd, which shared its experiences and outlook for the future of business. The small business owners and entrepreneurs made the point that as countries reopen for business, they expect a reversal of fortunes.
Since the onset of the pandemic, small business owners and entrepreneurs in particular have been facing challenges like never before. The core objective of FAJ’S Investment Readiness Programme is to equip founders of potentially high growth, innovative and early stage companies in Jamaica that are seeking Angel investments.
The training and coaching programme offers participants guidance and insight on several key areas such as marketing, business models, IP protection, accounting, and management of talent. Led by subject experts and industry leaders, virtual sessions were held twice-weekly from May 11 to July 7, 2021.
EYEING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH
The participating entrepreneurs are seeking to position themselves for equity financing as they eye opportunities for growth. For owners of Image & Glory Laboratories, Andrae and Tamara Lynch, who participated in the programme, while their operations were not directly impacted by the disruption, they have recognised the importance of using the down time to prepare for an upswing.
“We were fortunate enough to have been in R&D [research and development] during the pandemic time. We’re preparing to launch a new product and this period has actually been useful to us. We were able to buckle down in R&D and do some amazing things,” Andrae shared. Now actively raising capital, the producers of Glory laundry gel enrolled in the IRP to prepare for pitching to angel investors.
Young entrepreneur and managing director at Digital Danes, Carlyle Grant echoed a similar sentiment stating, “I had to consider my next move carefully and decided to enrol in this investment readiness programme. I was able to get in-depth hands-on learning experience. I’m more versed on how investments work. You have to get your finances in place, assemble a board of directors, if you don’t have one already.”
He argued that entrepreneurs in general don’t always focus on such things because they are busy trying to hustle. “You have to pay attention to those things if you want to grow your business,” Grant continued.
For founder of STEM Builders Learning Hub Kavelle Hylton, armed with the knowledge gained, her outlook for the future is positive. Hylton said, “with schools opening up, we will be able to grow even more. At the beginning, I didn’t know much about pitching, but this workshop has given me that edge to be more successful, especially now, knowing what investors are looking for. It has surpassed my expectations.”
HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR REBOUND OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES AND THE JAMAICAN ECONOMY
Since the inception of the collaboration, approximately 119 founders have attended the workshops. Co-founder and manager of First Angels Jamaica Sandra Glasgow is eager for the rebound of small and medium enterprises and the Jamaican economy.
According to her, “We were impressed by this year’s group of participants. They were as willing to learn as we were to guide them…we wanted, as much as possible, to give participants an opportunity to be a part of this programme, so that we sought sponsors who would be able to fund the programme allowing us to offer the participants scholarships to mitigate the cost. We see where the economy will be reopening and we want to provide that equity financing that these potentially great businesses need to go forward.”
IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON BUSINESSES
Grant explained that his operations were impacted by the disruption of the past year. He contended, “the pandemic brought on challenges I never expected. The one that caught me completely off guard was the effect it had on my relationships with the team; us having gone virtual, impacts energy, teamwork, overall collaboration and just being creative with the distance.”
However, “one of my most significant challenges was losing clients as some of them were impacted in their own businesses”, Grant explained. Similarly, Hylton experienced a total upheaval in the way she conducted business, noting that, “our programmes are geared towards schools and normally they would reach out to us in person”.
This was especially the case with rural schools that don’t have access to Internet. With the closure of schools, trying to market online was a challenge for Hylton. “I needed to find a new approach and level up my business. That is how I became involved in this IRP,” she stated.