'MEC EAB Agricultural Project' designed to cultivate entrepreneurship in Jamaica’s agricultural sector.

Together, MECC and EAB aim to provide the necessary support and resources for emerging entrepreneurs in agriculture to thrive and contribute to the overall growth and sustainability of the industry.”

— Dr. Sharon Smith, Director, MECC

KINGSTON, JAMAICA, April 27, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- Entrepreneurs Across Borders, Inc. (EAB) announced on Thursday it recently awarded a $22,500 matching grant to the Mona Entrepreneurial and Commercialization Centre (MECC) at the University of the West Indies (UWI). The capacity building grant is in response to an award from the Development Bank of Jamaica’s Boosting Innovation, Growth, and Entrepreneurship Ecosystems (BIGEE) program and is in support of The MECC EAB Agricultural Project, a new program designed to cultivate entrepreneurship in Jamaica’s agricultural sector. 

MECC and EAB have assembled a team of educators and community leaders who will mentor a cohort of entrepreneurs with established plans to launch agricultural initiatives. The program will help to incubate these initiatives over the course of an eight-month cycle.

“Entrepreneurship is the sole economic driver that can reliably transform an entire community. Why? Because entrepreneurs, by nature, solve problems. EAB focuses on identifying, curating, and connecting entrepreneurs in developing nations with those from more traditional markets, like the US,” shared Chris Cochran, Executive Director of Entrepreneurs Across Borders. “Our team is excited to see the global impact of innovations that can come from entrepreneurs in the Caribbean when those entrepreneurs have the right support.”

A final cohort of 10-15 Jamaican entrepreneurs will be selected for the program, based on a business skills and needs assessment. For more information, please visit https://meccjm.org/agricultutalproject.

The Caribbean Seed Fund, the first of its kind in the Caribbean, will be used to catalyze high-impact entrepreneurial initiatives across the Caribbean.

KINGSTON, JAMAICA, April 27, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- Entrepreneurs Across Borders, Inc. (EAB) announced on Wednesday that its first-ever “Beyond the Beach” Event will be held on April 28-29 in Kingston, Jamaica. This invitation-only event brings together an intimate group of investors, entrepreneurs, and executives to foster growth and innovation in Jamaica’s tech sector. A panel of speakers has been identified, including well-known angel investors, and seasoned (and exited) entrepreneurs from Jamaica and the U.S.

“We purposely kept the group small so that relationships can form among people who are ready to invest a slice of their time to have impact. . .That’s what’s different,” shared Martin Babinec, Founder of Entrepreneurs Across Borders.

At Beyond the Beach, EAB will also unveil progress towards forming an early-stage investment seed fund, the “Caribbean Seed Fund,” which will be wholly held in Jamaica and managed by a curated team of Jamaican and U.S. angel investors with established track records operating and growing similar funds. The Caribbean Seed Fund, the first of its kind in the Caribbean, will be Co-Founded and led by tech pioneer and entrepreneurial superstar, Ingrid Riley, and used to catalyze high-impact entrepreneurial initiatives across the Caribbean.

“We are working toward the repositioning of Jamaica and the Caribbean, beyond the typical perception of being solely a place where you come to get your groove back and your tan on,” exclaimed Ingrid Riley, Founder of SiliconCaribe. “Together, we’re contributing to a Caribbean that will be more known for entrepreneurship, innovation and excellence, Beyond the Beach.”

Representatives from the widely recognized nonprofit, Food for the Poor, will also present at Beyond the Beach, sharing highlights of a developing partnership with Entrepreneurs Across Borders called “EAB Connect.” This new joint venture will include the development of an innovative technology platform designed to connect entrepreneurs in emerging markets with relationships across a broad network of people willing to leverage both connections and capital in support of entrepreneurial growth in underdeveloped communities across the globe.

“Entrepreneurs take challenges head-on and then solve them. That is why supporting entrepreneurship is so important to markets like the Caribbean,” states Chris Cochran, Executive Director of Entrepreneurs Across 
Borders. “Access to new forms of venture capital that the region has not seen before will be instrumental in helping those entrepreneurs thrive and grow beyond the bounds of Jamaica. We are so excited to gather successful investors from the US and Jamaicans that want to give of their own time to invest in the Caribbean because there is a lot happening right now in the region.”

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Lack of irrigation puts at risk livelihoods of hundreds of millions of farmers, their families and vulnerable communities.  To address these threats, leading farmers are taking action and EAB is connecting them to resources that creates jobs, food security and economic opportunity.

Farmer-led Irrigation Development (FLID) is not new, but is constrained.  This month EAB removed the constraints in Jamaica by connecting the Newhall Producers Group to resources that will help them grow their crops and community.

The community received much needed assistance, tools and irrigation supplies from Food For The Poor and Jamaica's Rural Agricultural Development Authority. 

Katrina Atkins, EAB entrepreneur and farmer said, "Things are progressing really well."  "No matter the state of the economy, there is one thing that people must do, and that is eat."

The results are in CONGRATULATIONS to our 10 REAPers who have been awarded $100,000JMD each as seedfunding to start or grow their businesses. 

All the REAPers did very well in their Pitch and it was definitely a hard task for the judges. YWOP/YMOP and Entrepreneurs Across Borders are supporting the other REAPers with tangible resources to start or grow their businesses.

The United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (USDA ERS) International Food Security Assessment, 2020–2030: COVID-19 Update and Impacts on Food Insecurity report released in January 2021 reveals that 12.8 per cent of the Jamaican population is currently food insecure, equating to some 400,000 people. This is double pre-COVID-19 USDA ERS projections and an increase of 100,000 persons over revised projections made during the pandemic.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the USDA ERS released preliminary projections that 200,000 Jamaicans would be food insecure by the end of 2020. By the end of the year, the socio-economic impact of the pandemic had caused the actual number of persons suffering from food insecurity to exceed pre-pandemic estimates by 100 per cent, primarily affecting female-headed households and homes with at least one child...

To read more click: https://www.forbes.com/sites/daphneewingchow/2021/01/24/food-insecurity-in-jamaica-doubled-expectations-in-2020/?sh=40a2db806442

Kingston, Jamaica: The U.S. Embassy is proud to announce the 2021 cohort from Jamaica for the U.S. Department of State’s Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellowship Program. This program will begin in January 2021 and close in April 2021, bringing together 263 young leaders from 37 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada for a virtual fellowship. This year we are pleased to announce that nine young leaders from Jamaica have been accepted out of over 2,300 applicants.

Jamaica’s cohort of YLAI Fellows are entrepreneurs from various sectors, their industries include agriculture, education, youth and community development, civic engagement, hospitality management, product development and distribution. Adrian Watson, CEO for Honai Beez Apiary, Audley Reid, CEO for R.A. Williams Distributors Ltd, Deleen Powell, Co-owner, Director, and Secretary for Newman Farms, Godiva Golding, Founder of STEAM House Network, Kimone Knight, Founder of Xensitive Care Ltd, Kimone Kerr, Chief Executive Officer for The Exuberant Overseas Placement Agency, Patrique Goodall, Founder of Likkle Tea, Randall Richards, Founder and Director, Mint Creative and Danielle Terrelonge, Founder of Hmgrwn & Co (not included in the group photo).  Read more

https://jm.usembassy.gov/u-s-embassy-announces-the-2021-cohort-of-the-young-leaders-of-the-americas-initiative-ylai-fellowship-program/

Twenty-nine-year-old Citerina Atkins did not dream that she would become a farmer. 

The deCarteret College alumna, who hails from New Hall in Manchester, had her sights set on a career in finance.

After graduating from The University of the West Indies, Mona, with a degree in banking and finance, she did a one-year stint working at an insurance agency.

Not comfortable with the nine-to-five office environment, she began to look for a way out.

One Sunday, her cousin, Roike Campbell, who had recently quit his job in information technology to focus on farming, showed her the social media pages of Abbey Gardens Farm, managed by Young Champion Farmer and Nutramix Youth in Agriculture Ambassador Diandra Rowe, and she was intrigued...

Read more here:  http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20201226/ditching-office-job-farm-new-hall-woman-digs

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will embark on developing a plan for the bee industry in order to ensure its sustainability.

Among the areas it will address are certification of beekeepers, the national digital logging of apiaries, theft experienced by bee farmers and the expansion of the value chain.

Addressing a virtual meeting of beekeepers on December 2, Portfolio Minister Floyd Green, said the plan will guide the actions of the ministry over the next five years and will include all stakeholders in its development.

“One of the things we will have to do is to see how quickly we can streamline that plan and clearly we will have to incorporate all of your views,” the minister said.

Read more here: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Agriculture_Ministry_embarks_on_development_plan_for_bee_industry

MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Manchester non-government organisation Young Women of Purpose (YWOP) is seeking to raise at least $750,000 in funding to assist 10 women who have an interest in building their own businesses.

The women were part of a group of 20 who recently participated in intensive entrepreneurship training, which included field trips.

Nikesha Lowe, project manager for the REAP (Realise Embrace Achieve your Purpose) Project, done by YWOP and through which the training was conceptualised, said the topics covered included developing an entrepreneurial mindset, managing a business, financial management, business modelling and pitching, funding, marketing, taxation and intellectual property... Read More