Strong entrepreneur ecosystem

EARLIER THIS year, I was honoured to be named chairman of the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship – Caribbean. It brings me tremendous fulfilment to be a part of a team that is spearheading development in the Caribbean’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Having a strong entrepreneur ecosystem is important to develop Caribbean economies, and entrepreneur accelerators play a key role. Now that the Jamaican economy is picking up pace, capital is looking to invest in emerging entrepreneurs. With seven years of experience accelerating businesses, the Branson Centre has established itself as the premier accelerator in the region.

This year, we continued our trajectory of expansion. In order to boost businesses that are on the cusp of generating exceptional economic impact, we’ve adjusted our focus from start-ups to scale-ups, offering high-potential entrepreneurs access to a range of services around governance, training, and funding.

INVESTMENT PIPELINE

We’ve created a viable investment pipeline, bringing one of the strongest groups of capital to the table. This gives our entrepreneurs opportunities to pitch to institutional investors, who represent a majority of the venture capital available in Jamaica. These investors include NCB, PROVEN Investments, PanJam Investment, GK Capital, Norbrook Capital Partners and Greystone Capital. They are ready to invest upwards of US$1 million investments in each deal. This strategic move addresses long-standing funding challenges in the ecosystem and gives our partners direct access to fruitful, investment-ready ventures.

Our small, powerful and passionate Branson Centre team, and dedicated, influential partners and donors, continue to enable us to to meet and surpass our goals. Our ethos is built on a foundation of purpose, altruism and a quest to embody and spread well-being within the world of work.

On behalf of the centre, we thank our board of directors, our partners, benefactors and all who have supported us along this seven-year journey. We look forward to our continued work together, helping scale-up businesses thrive to drive sustainable economic growth. CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS Chairman