HYLTON WELCOMES INVESTMENT BY TOYOTA JAMAICA—01/31/15
Anthony Hylton, Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, participated in a ground-breaking at the site of a new branch of Toyota Jamaica Ltd. Hylton welcomed the firm’s investment of $400 million in the new facility, which is slated to provide 140 new jobs on the island. According to Hylton, the investment indicates growing confidence in the future of Jamaica’s economy.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUB LAUNCHES SECOND PHASE OF COMPETITION—02/01/15
The “Billionaire Club,” a student-based entrepreneurship group at the University of Technology, in partnership with Scotiabank’s UTech/Scotiabank Chair in Entrepreneurship, EG Wellness Brand, and Jamaica Producers Group, has launched the second phase of its 2014-2015 entrepreneurship competition. The competition’s goal is to promote entrepreneurship among university students and to provide those students with the support they need to pursue their business ventures. Five student groups have been selected for the competition and received start-up capital totaling more than $120,000.

THWAITES ANNOUNCES NEW HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA EQUIVALENCY PROGRAM—02/02/15
Jamaica’s Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites has announced the creation of a high school diploma equivalency program (HSDEF), which began under the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL). The program has a current enrollment of nearly 4,000 students, and it expects to have 7,500 participants in 2015-2016. The JFLL has 28 facilities, and a plan that allows for a partnership with the Jamaica Library Service for using established facilities is likely to double available opportunities for students.

RAINFOREST SEAFOODS TO BUILD LOBSTER PLANT IN MONTEGO BAY—02/04/15
Rainforest Seafoods, which is based in Jamaica, plans to construct a lobster facility in Montego Bay at a cost of $100 million. The expansion of the plan will allow for the accommodation of 250,000 pounds of lobster for the firm, which it plans to export in 2015. Rainforest supplies targeted markets in Japan, China, and Korea.