62 June 2016 - Business View Caribbean
is to attract and facilitate investment. “And that means
that we go out into international markets, target spe-
cific companies, and convince those companies to in-
vest in Jamaica,” says Edwards. “We have two over-
seas offices that help us do this – one in Toronto and
one in London – and they both cover large geographic
areas. Their mission is to find investors in the specific
sectors that we have identified where Jamaica has a
competitive advantage.” Those sectors, according to
Edwards, are tourism & agribusiness; knowledge ser-
vices, including BPO, or Business Process Outsourcing
(Jamaica currently has 18,000 BPO workers); manu-
facturing, mining, and energy; and logistics.
“We’re the first port-of-call for marketing information,”
Edwards adds. “We advise on the business environ-
ment, the legislation, the regulations, the internation-
al treaties, taxation – all the things that an investor
needs to know. JAMPRO provides ‘hand-holding’ sup-
port to investors, accelerating the time it takes to set
up businesses and helping to overcome some of the
barriers they face in maneuvering the Jamaican busi-
ness processes.”
JAMPRO’s Export and Market Development Division is
focused on helping Jamaican exporters find new ex-
port markets as well exploit those undersupplied mar-
kets already identified. It organizes trade missions,
promotes trade exhibition participation, and connects
exporters with international buyers. It also provides
market intelligence that helps exporters understand
global market trends.
In addition, the Division assists exporters with what
is referred to as “capacity building” - the process by
which people, organizations, and society systematical-
ly stimulate and develop their capability over time to
achieve social and economic goals, through improve-
