KINGSTON, Jamaica, (JAMPRO) – Jamaica is rapidly becoming the place big names in business want to call home and at Collision 2023, the country will introduce its Upsource Jamaica concept to eager businesses seeking to join select Fortune 500 companies who nearshore there.
With companies such as VistaPrint, Conduent (Xerox), ibex, and Fusion BPO Services already making good on Jamaica’s unique competitive advantages, the Caribbean’s largest English-speaking nation is positioning itself to welcome a new wave of global businesses whose leaders are eager to seize the unique competitive advantages the country offers.
The country’s stable government and economy, along with its location, physical infrastructure, talent pool, and economic framework read like a wish list for global supply chain managers.
Improved road networks, enhanced sea and airport infrastructure, and advanced telecommunications capabilities, supported by services such as Starlink’s high-speed satellite internet, have helped to elevate the island’s position as an international business centre.
With Kingston being, by air, just 90 minutes from Miami, some 3 hours 37 minutes from Toronto and just under 10 hours from London, the country offers significant nearshore advantages for key markets.
Jamaica’s Special Economic Zones also provide the optimal business ecosystem in which businesses can flourish. Over 100 entities have been granted SEZ status in the country. This has led to exponential growth in the global services sub-sectors of BPO, KPO, ITES (IT Enabled Services), Logistics and Creative Industries.
Central to the unique value proposition that is winning over so many investors are the Jamaican people. Jamaicans are buying into the government’s efforts to catapult the country to the top of the global services sector. The workforce is already highly skilled, talented, driven and trainable. However, the government has also worked with its partners to create highly specific skills training programmes for the youth, through the HEART Trust/NSTA and projects such as the Global Services Sector Project (GSSP). More recently, prime minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness established a unit with the office of the prime minister to focus on skills and digital transformation.
These training initiatives ensure that there is a constant awareness and development of local talent to fit the evolving needs of the global services sector and a readiness among citizens to help build, shape, expand and enhance the sector.
In addition, powering the country’s newest thrust to sit atop the global services sector is the National Investment Policy (NIP) developed by the Ministry of Industry Investment and Commerce with support from one of its agencies, Jamaica Promotions Corporations (JAMPRO). The NIP entails a raft of economic development initiatives, framework enhancement objectives and support measures that are designed to make it easier for locals and foreigners alike to set up businesses in the country successfully.
By removing the usual red tape and bureaucracy, the country is allowing businesses to operate more nimbly, which is crucial for sustainability and competitiveness. It’s an enticing offering for business leaders eager to outpace their competitors.
The new National Investment Policy further enhances the offering of a country that has been consistently ranked in the top 10 in a number of critical international business advantage metrics.
Jamaica was ranked 6th Easiest Place to Do Business globally by the World Bank (2019); named the Best Caribbean Nation for Doing Business by Forbes (2019); rated as the Best Performing Stock Market in the World in 2015 and 2018 by Bloomberg; and ranked 9th on the innovation list of Latin American and Caribbean economies in the Global Innovation Index – WIPO.
In the last decade, business confidence in the country has increased annually by 24.1 points.
