JAMAICA BUSINESS NEWS: January 24th – 30th, 2015

TRAINING IN PHOTOVOLTAICS OFFERED AT TECHNOLOGY CENTER—01/24/15
The Caribbean Green Technology Center’s Workforce Program is offering 40-hours of training designed to help students pass the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) entry examination. The goal is to teach the students photovoltaic (PV) technology so that they will be able, in turn, to instruct others so they can build, operate, and maintain efficient PV systems in their own communities to generate electricity.

MODEL SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER ESTABLISHED IN JAMAICA—01/26/15
The Organization of American States (OAS) introduced the Small business Development Center (SBDC) model in Jamaica at a ceremony in Kingston at the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce. The model was developed together with the Ministry, the Caribbean Export Development agency, and the University of Texas, San Antonio. It will help clients to create a sustained economic impact via job creation, development of new businesses, and greater access to capital.

JAMAICA TO GET $62.7 MILLION RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT—01/27/15
The Canadian government, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation of the United States, and World Bank Group member IFC will provide $62.7 million to develop the largest private sector wind farm facility on the island. According to Bruce Levy, director of BMR Jamaica Wind Ltd., the firm that will operate and maintain the wind farm, the private sector is anxious to develop the renewable energy potential of Jamaica.

GINGER PROJECT A SUCCESS—01/28/15
A ginger-planting project created via a partnership between Farm Up Jamaica, a nonprofit based in New York, and doTERRA, an essential oils sales firm based in Utah, has been deemed a success. The project involved hundreds of tourists from the United States planting ten acres of high-quality organic ginger plants on land previously occupied by forest in Haddo, Westmoreland. The project seeks to encourage the local growing of more organic produce in order to reduce imports and increase exported products.