Eight medium-sized entities have received grants totalling $160 million to support their business ventures or innovations. The support was provided by the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) under its Boosting Innovation, Growth and Entrepreneurship Ecosystems (BIGEE) Innovation Grant Fund, which is being implemented in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Each entity received $20 million to assist in the development and commercialisation of innovative products, services and processes and new business models. The eight beneficiary companies, which represent the fourth cohort of BIGEE recipients, are Esirom Limited, Saddle Energy Limited, HDB Manufacturers & Distributors, Medical X-Ray Institute Limited, Sunshine Dialysis Centre Limited, Clubhouse Brewery, Adtelligent Limited and BookFusion Limited.
Speaking at the grant-signing ceremony at the DBJ’s Oxford Road location on Wednesday (September 25), the entity’s Managing Director (Acting), David Wan, explained that the Government and the IDB signed a US$25-million loan agreement in 2021 to build out a robust and sustained entrepreneurial system.
The IDB also negotiated and secured a non-reimbursable grant of US$8.2 million from the European Union (EU) to accompany this US$25-million loan, Mr. Wan informed.
Technical Coordinator of BIGEE, Lu’Shana Cheddesingh, noted that since its inception, the DBJ-BIGEE Innovation Grant Fund has supported 30 medium-sized firms to the tune of $400 million.
“In cohort one, we started with three, and they all did well with $14 million. We moved on to cohort two with eight projects. In cohort three, we did 11 projects and today we have another eight projects,” Ms. Cheddesingh noted.
She praised the diversity and innovation demonstrated by this year’s cohort of grant companies.
“You all bring something unique to the table, reflecting climate resilience, gender inclusiveness and, most importantly, strategic innovation. This variety truly exemplifies the forward-thinking spirit that Jamaica needs to thrive in an ever-evolving global landscape,” Ms. Cheddesingh said.
Underscoring the importance of innovation in driving economic growth and competitiveness, Chief of Operations at IDB, Lorenzo Escondeur, noted that “innovation is about creating jobs, improving the standard of living and ensuring that Jamaica remains competitive on the global stage”.
“Through innovation, we will increase productivity, reduce dependency on imported technologies and create homegrown solutions to our most critical challenge,” he added. CEO of Adtelligent, Craig Powe, who is a two-time beneficiary of grant support from the DBJ, highlighted the transformative impact of the assistance on his business.
“Six years ago, I was part of one of the first IDB IGNITE (Innovation Grant from New Ideas to Entrepreneurship) programmes and I got a grant of $4 million. At that time, my revenue was $20 million and now I’m doing $90 million. Eighty per cent of people at Adtelligent earn over US$1,000 a month now. Before, the average monthly salary was $80,000,” shared Mr. Powe.
He expressed gratitude for the initial $4 million he received from DBJ. “That grant allowed me to take off the capital expense of those equipment and gave me some breathing room, so for $20 million, I’m definitely going to change the game,” he said.
BIGEE aims to promote innovation and productivity among established micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with high growth potential, to promote sustainable and disruptive growth in scalable startups, and to create sustainable pipeline of high-growth startups and a strong supporting ecosystem for entrepreneurship.
