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YOUNG JAMAICAN entrepreneurs are not capitalising on the current expansion taking place in the tourism industry, says Pat Francis, president of the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO).
Speaking on the Linkages programme that was mandated by the Ministry of Development last year, Mrs. Francis said the island's supply chain has not recognised the development in the marketplace.
The primary objective of Linkages is to increase domestic sourcing by investors and to deepen and upgrade existing links in Jamaica. The overall aim of the programme, therefore, is to increase levels of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by upgrading the capacities of local suppliers to produce higher value-added goods and services in a competitive environment.
PROBLEMS
However, new hotels such as the 850-room RIU Ocho Rios have encountered problems finding locally-grown fruits and vegetables to feed their guests. The RIU hotel has had to resort to importing some of the things needed, said Mrs. Francis.
"They are complaining about not being able to find pineapples and mangoes," she said. A huge opportunity, she added, for some young entreprenuer to grasp and run with.
"If I were a guest in a hotel, I would want fresh produce on my table, produce from the country I am visiting," she remarked.
She cautioned that the quality, dependability and packaging are what will make the difference and encourage a purchasing manager to even consider buying from the local suppliers. It is important that when the supplier makes a presentation he or she is equipped with a price list, type of products being sold and samples of that product, she said.
She also felt it was important that whoever takes up the mantle, work in a group. "What it means is, if I have 20 acres of land in Clarendon and my neighbour has five, we work together, so when the demand is great, the goods can be easily sourced."
According to the JAMPRO president, her organisation has a process by which people can be introduced to the right people, but the other thing to do is to knock on the doors of the hotels' purchasing managers, "And knock more than once, as in sales, as with all sales calls, it takes more than one knock to succeed."
The targeted sub-sectors included in the Linkages programme are:
Tourism, professional services, value-added manufacturing food processing, minerals /Alcohols and Phenols, software development, shared services, call centres and bauxite.
K20 - Same ting mi seh when mi come back from yard couple weeks back mi see money opportunity till mi eye dem watah, is why more people naw see it.
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Speaking on the Linkages programme that was mandated by the Ministry of Development last year, Mrs. Francis said the island's supply chain has not recognised the development in the marketplace.
The primary objective of Linkages is to increase domestic sourcing by investors and to deepen and upgrade existing links in Jamaica. The overall aim of the programme, therefore, is to increase levels of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by upgrading the capacities of local suppliers to produce higher value-added goods and services in a competitive environment.
PROBLEMS
However, new hotels such as the 850-room RIU Ocho Rios have encountered problems finding locally-grown fruits and vegetables to feed their guests. The RIU hotel has had to resort to importing some of the things needed, said Mrs. Francis.
"They are complaining about not being able to find pineapples and mangoes," she said. A huge opportunity, she added, for some young entreprenuer to grasp and run with.
"If I were a guest in a hotel, I would want fresh produce on my table, produce from the country I am visiting," she remarked.
She cautioned that the quality, dependability and packaging are what will make the difference and encourage a purchasing manager to even consider buying from the local suppliers. It is important that when the supplier makes a presentation he or she is equipped with a price list, type of products being sold and samples of that product, she said.
She also felt it was important that whoever takes up the mantle, work in a group. "What it means is, if I have 20 acres of land in Clarendon and my neighbour has five, we work together, so when the demand is great, the goods can be easily sourced."
According to the JAMPRO president, her organisation has a process by which people can be introduced to the right people, but the other thing to do is to knock on the doors of the hotels' purchasing managers, "And knock more than once, as in sales, as with all sales calls, it takes more than one knock to succeed."
The targeted sub-sectors included in the Linkages programme are:
Tourism, professional services, value-added manufacturing food processing, minerals /Alcohols and Phenols, software development, shared services, call centres and bauxite.
K20 - Same ting mi seh when mi come back from yard couple weeks back mi see money opportunity till mi eye dem watah, is why more people naw see it.
SOURCE
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