PIOJ Growth-Inducement Strategy - Planning Institute of Jamaica

Locally, the Scientific Research Council has not successfully transformed many of its
research products into viable businesses, and the local Universities (UWI, UTECH,
NCU) are also in need of a formalized structure to incubate and eventually commercialize
viable research ideas.
In many countries, this supportive system is created within a dynamic venture-capital
park, within which symbiotic relationships are created among the entrepreneurs, the
business support services providers, the academic researchers and the providers of
capital.
In most models, this actual physical space allows for the sharing and development of
ideas, the nurturing and incubation of new businesses, and the mentoring and interaction
with angel and venture capital investors.
With the development of the venture capital industry in Jamaica, it is recognized that
over the medium to long term, the source of many new VC initiatives, and possibly the
source of many businesses for which the country will have a competitive advantage, will
emanate from having a space from which these ideas can be germinated, nurtured and
grown to a level where they will attract seed capital and eventually qualify for follow-on
funding and growth capital. Additionally, existing companies can realize their high
growth potential through the access to new technologies and research.
2.0 Key Lessons from Selected Cases Studies
In assessing the feasibility of the creation of this entrepreneurship park, in Jamaica,
successful models in other countries need to be examined, in order to understand the
structure, the stakeholders and the key success factors.
One important lesson is that in many countries the venture capital investments tend to be
concentrated in regional clusters and/or centres or parks, which can provide the
supportive infrastructure. Examples of this include the YOZMA in Israel, the Ben
Franklin Technology Centre in Pennsylvania. These centres provide access to capital,
access to knowledge and access to expertise, in addition to the nurturing of an
entrepreneurial culture.
The key advantage of these venture-capital centres is the establishment of networks and
the establishment of relationships with angel investors, venture capitalists, financial
institutions, governmental institutions and other partners to facilitate the needs of the
investee companies and entrepreneurs.
With collaboration among universities and researchers, the best discoveries can be
nurtured and developed for commercialization through the marketplace. Similarly
existing technologies and products from overseas markets may be adapted and ‘rolled
out’ into local, regional and global export markets.
162