Background
The Technology Innovation District (TID) Accelerator Project is being executed under a five (5) year loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to promote the growth of Jamaica’s Global Services Sector. The Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) is the executing agency on behalf of the Government of Jamaica.
The Call
If you are an ambitious local tech and digital entrepreneur who is interested in up-scaling your professional services business to potentially provide services and solutions to clients outside of Jamaica, the TID Accelerator initiative will be of interest to you.
The Opportunity
TID Accelerator is a virtual one-year, cohort-based programme, designed to help build the capacity of local tech firms and provide access to business opportunities that will grow the revenue of cohort participants. Participation in the Accelerator initiative requires no financial investment for those who qualify, and requires only your commitment and willingness to invest the time required to take your firm to the next level by the end of December 2023, to date when Phase 1 of the TID Project will end.
This initiative has been specifically developed for local tech firms that provide services and solutions in the following lines of business:
- Software Development
- Application Development (Mobile & Web)
- Cybersecurity
- Digital Service Management
To be considered for enrolment in the Technology Innovation District (TID) Accelerator Project, the firms must:
- Already provide services and solutions in any of the lines of business that are the focus of the TID Project.
- Be relatively successful thus far;
- Must have a foundation that is strong enough for them to be scalable and ready for “acceleration”; and
- Can benefit from being connected to the Global Services supply chain.
The services offered by the TID Accelerator will include:
- Capacity Building
- Mentorship
- Training
- B2B Meetings
- Business Exposure; and
- Access to markets that have been assessed as having potential demand.
What’s in it for you?
- An Accelerator Health Check for your organisation – An assessment of your organisation’s ability to benefit from the program and identification of the areas within your Business Model, that will need to be strengthened.
- Capacity Building – A set of organisational strengthening interventions that are aimed at filling the most critical gaps identified by your “Health Check” and facilitated by Subject Matter Experts.
- Coaching and Mentoring – Guidance and the distillation of lessons learnt from industry and subject matter experts who have taken journeys that are similar to the one on which you are embarking.
- Attending International & Local Tech Events – Gain valuable knowledge and insights.
- Networking – Connection to other tech entrepreneurs and corporate entities.
- Access to Qualified Leads – The opportunity to submit your company’s proposals to clients who want to engage providers of services and solutions in the selected lines of business.
- Promotion & Exposure – An opportunity to promote your company’s offerings at expos and conferences.
- Avenues to access financial support – Guidance as to where the “financing windows” exist through which any required funding (grant or loan) may be solicited.
Get started with the TID Accelerator App here.
Five Firms Sign on to JAMPRO’s Technology Accelerator Project
Five technology firms have signed on to the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) accelerator project, which aims to build the capacity of local entities to access business opportunities in overseas markets and grow their revenue.
These are Bluedot Insights, MC Systems, Smart Mobile Solutions, ResolveIT Service Centre, and Port Computer Services Limited.
A total of 20 participants are targeted for the first cohort of the Technology Innovation District (TID) Accelerator Project, which is targeting entities in niche sectors such as software development, digital services management, cybersecurity, and mobile and web app development.
It is being undertaken under component two of the Global Services Sector Project (GSSP) and is geared towards enabling Jamaica to advance further along the global digital services value chain, support the growth of businesses, and achieve sustainable economic growth for the country through the export of digital services.
Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, in his remarks at the launch held at JAMPRO’s corporate offices in Kingston on Tuesday (March 14), said the programme seeks to establish Jamaica as the global services destination of choice.
“The launch of the TID Accelerator Project will help Jamaica diversify and strengthen our export of services at a higher level in the value chain…The country has made significant progress with BPO (business process outsourcing) and global digital services. It will continue to be a factor that we must (improve upon),” he noted.
President of JAMPRO, Shullette Cox, said the key objective of the project is to strengthen the institutional capacity of select global digital services firms to attract investments and increase exports.
“The technology accelerator project seeks to establish an ecosystem to support the development of tech companies that are scalable, ready for acceleration, so that they may be able to successfully deliver exportable digital services,” she noted.
She said that the project is a critical pillar under the GSSP, which is aimed at promoting growth in the sector, particularly in higher-value segments.
TID Accelerator Zone Manager, Tastey Blackman, in her remarks, said the initiative will enable participating firms to scale their operations and gain access to international markets.
“The vision of the TID is really to help our local tech firms achieve their corporate goals and to grow their businesses and to expand into exports of services. Our mission is really to provide the enabling capacity to build the firms, close gaps and get [them] ready to take on the bigger, wider, international markets,” she explained.
Under the project, which is free of cost to tech firms, participants will receive customised coaching, mentoring, training, and exposure to international markets through business missions, particularly to North America, which is a key market targeted under the initiative.
These international entities would have already been evaluated to determine their level of interest in doing business with and outsourcing tech work to Jamaican companies.
The TID Accelerator Project is being executed by JAMPRO under a five-year loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as part of strategic interventions to promote growth of the GSSP.
Participating firms will undergo a needs assessment to determine gaps, and from that assessment, a business profile will be developed along with capacity-building activities to address these issues.
The programme will be delivered via a virtual platform.
Entities must be registered in Jamaica, tax compliant, have been in operation for at least three years, and have a minimum of five employees in the organisation.
Source: JIS News
Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill (standing, second left) looks on as Operations Manager, Port Computer Services Limited, Kay Wilson Kelly, (seated, second left), signs the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signifying his company’s participation in the inaugural Technology Innovation District (TID) Accelerator Project, during a press launch held on Tuesday (March 14) at the corporate offices of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) in Kingston. Also observing the proceedings are (from left, seated) Programme Director, Global Services Sector Project (GSSP), Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Marjorie Straw; President, JAMPRO, Shullette Cox; Vice President, Marketing, JAMPRO, Gabriel Herron; (and standing from left) Chief of Operations, Inter- American Development Bank (IDB), Lorenzo Escondeur; TID Accelerator Zone Manager, Tastey Blackman and VP, Sales and Promotions, JAMPRO, Norman Naar.
Gov’t launches accelerator project for 20 local IT firms
When Kay Wilson-Kelly, operations manager at Port Computer Services Limited, a local computer software company which trades as Advantum Limited, realised that she was the only woman among men signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Government for the new Technology Innovation District (TID) Accelerator Project, she was delighted.
In the male-dominated sector, Wilson-Kelly was elated to know that she was chosen to ink the deal on behalf of her company.
“I was taken aback with the applause and sounds. It is a testament that it’s a mixed world, and I’m not feminist, and anyone who wishes to step up to the challenge in tech should step up,” Wilson-Kelly told The Gleaner after signing the MOU at the offices of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) on Tuesday.
“I believe it’s a big step for my organisation to become involved in this mission. We already do work for other Caribbean countries, which include Trinidad, Barbados, and Dominica, so this will definitely widen our scope. I’m excited and I look forward to it,” she said.
Wilson-Kelly has been operations manager since 2017 at Advantum Limited, having been among the women breaking the glass ceiling in the male-dominated information technology sector for over 30 years.
Her career in information technology started when she “got a good grade in math at The University of the West Indies” and she was encouraged to pursue a bachelor’s degree in computer sciences.
The other companies which signed the MOU on Tuesday were BlueDot, MC Systems (an affiliate of the Jamaica National Group), ResolveIT, and Smart Mobile Solutions (SMS), which were represented by Larren Peart, Dwayne Russell, Almando Cox, and Dane Spencer, respectively.
The TID Accelerator Project will be funded by a five-year loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to promote the growth of Jamaica’s global services sector and to help secure more contracted services for local computer-based solutions from overseas clients.
JAMPRO, the executing agency, will promote the businesses of all companies which sign the MOU for one year.
The project is designed to help build the capacity of local firms and provide access to business opportunities that will grow the revenue of cohort participants.
Participation in the accelerator aspect of the initiative requires no financial investment for those who qualify. All that is needed is commitment and willingness to invest the time required to take firms to the next level by the end of December 2023, when phase one of the project will end.
Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister Aubyn Hill noted that he was proud to see at least one woman in the mix, noting that 15 other companies will get opportunities to sign on to the project in the upcoming months.
He said the initiative was groundbreaking and pleaded with participants to work with JAMPRO in making it a success.
“This Technology Innovation District will be another wall in the building to supply the required workforce. Please stay. Please bring your company. Use what we have for you. Work with JAMPRO. Work with the other agencies in the ministry and make sure that the money that we borrow, at a reasonable rate from the IDB, is properly used,” he said.
Dwayne Russell, general manager at MC Systems, said he was pleased to ink the deal.
“We’re [grateful] for this initiative. The strategy of JAMPRO aligns with our growth strategy. It’s not just a matter of accessing markets, but [also] developing people of Jamaica and community, and that’s what we’re really excited about. … Jamaicans, we’re very creative, very talented and this is another avenue for the talent as a people to be exposed, so they can live the life they want to live as they grow older,” Russell told The Gleaner.
Source: The Jamaica Gleaner
JAMPRO President Shullette Cox (right) congratulates members of the first five companies to sign up for the Technology Innovation District Accelerator Project. The five representatives are (from left) Larren Peart, BlueDot; Dane Spencer, Smart Mobile Solutions, Kay Wilson-Kelly, Port Computer Services LTD, Dwayne Russell, MC Systems; and Almando Cox, ResolveIT. The occasion was JAMPRO’s Tech Accelerator launch event at JAMPRO’s offices in St Andrew on Tuesday.
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