Jamaica Business Development Corporation

6 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 9, ISSUE 7 technical staff (engineers, food technologists, packaging designers, and branding) in place to provide that kind of support.” Harold Davis, Deputy CEO of the JBDC, elaborates: “Our covenant with our businesses is to maximize their potential for earning and sustainable growth, to add value to the appropriate market segment wherever it is. There are businesses with potential for the export market, their product and business process would enable them to be appropriate for export. Others fill a domestic market need and would like to maximize their opportunity, in terms of possibility and growth serving the local market. So our focus is based on the specific needs and potential of the individual businesses. Import substitution for example is just as big a deal for us as export.” The JBDC has one standard for both domestic and international goods and there is no compromise. “It’s a very important psychological tenet that we have worked with from the start,” says Veira. The JBDC also incorporates a key approach known as ‘clustering’. If you are a small company, you may not be able to enter export markets on your own, but under a bigger brand you would be able to enter. With that in mind, the Jamaica Business Development Corporation owns some exciting brands in Jamaica that consumers can purchase on the JBDC e-commerce site, and on Amazon and eBay. Veira clarifies, “So, we can bring in producers within those brands that we own, and if one drops out, the group is still in the market – we just bring in someone else who we have prepared to participate in the cluster. A lot of work is done by our officers on clustering groups with the same vision to make sure the cluster is really effective.” Every year, the JBDC focuses on a different industry sector. Last year, it was creatives and this year it is agri-business. As a network broker, JAMA I CA BUS INESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORAT ION