IN JAMAICA: Governor General's I Believe/Monroe College Scholarship launched..... Gov’t gets closer to business incubator in digital economy......"In essence what we will have is a six-month programme where candidates will be given coaching and mentorship guidance to the point where they can develop a business plan".....

Saturday, March 08, 2014    

GOVERNMENT is now a step closer towards the setting up of a national business incubator that will seek to help local and international players to stay in the island and develop their skills and business plans in a digital economy.

Governor General Sir Patrick Allen (third left) and Lady Allen (centre)
are joined by entrepreneur James Goren (second right);
Dr Geneive Brown Metzger (right), director of government relations
 and outreach for the Caribbean region, Monroe College;
Pamille Shaw-Blair, assistant marketing and communications
 manager of the Jamaica Observer, which has helped
to promote the IBI scholarship; and entrepreneur Manuela Goren
 pose for a photo following Thursday’s launch of the
 IBI/Monroe College Scholarship at King’s House.
 (PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS)

"Basically, it will be an incubator where persons who have ideas or who want to develop a business will be able to come in," said Julian Robinson, minister of state, Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining.

He was speaking Thursday at the launch of the Governor General's I Believe Initiative (IBI) Monroe College Scholarship at King's House in St Andrew.

The state minister said people who are interested in, among other things, the building of applications for phones and software, as well as people who are in animation, will be targeted as the focus will be to reach out to persons who are in the digital economy. The centre, he said, is to be launched in the third quarter of the year. He, however, declined to disclose the planned location of

the centre.

"In essence what we will have is a six-month programme where candidates will be given coaching and mentorship guidance to the point where they can develop a business plan, a prototype and can venture out to seek funding. So it's moving from an idea, to where you are close to a business," said Robinson.

"The primary target will be Jamaicans, but it will be open to anybody because one of the major benefits of the incubator is to have cross- fertilisation of ideas," he said. more