Big plans for Invest MoBay initiative

Western Bureau:

The inaugural staging of the Invest MoBay initiative, which is geared towards providing the investor community with a

raft of potential business opportunities, is slated to unfold at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James on Friday, March 3.

"We want to accelerate the process of investment match-making, where investors can be introduced to not just products, but local entrepreneurs and facilitators that can help them gain access to investment opportunities in this growing economic corridor," stated Gloria Henry, the president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The initiative will be marked by a business panel and luncheon designed to expose attendants to some alternative emerging opportunities in Montego Bay, which is arguably the fastest-growing city in the English-speaking Caribbean, with approximately 180,000 residents. The summit will be hinged on the key areas of agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing, infrastructure development, transportation, housing, and services.

RAPID GROWTH

According to Henry, the rapid growth of the western city is creating a demand for low- to middle-income housing, urban transportation, as well as infrastructure development in the areas of road, sewage and garbage, among other needs.

Invest MoBay is also expected to provide investors and business executives with networking opportunities with leading stakeholders in the region, who are expected to come from a myriad of sectors, including politics, business, academia, and human resources.

Based on recent studies, Montego Bay continues to be one of the most popular destinations in the Western Hemisphere, and enjoyed the lion's share of the nearly three million visitors to the island last year. The tourist town is also home to more than 70 per cent of the firms operating in the business process outsourcing sector, which provides about 15,000 jobs and is poised for significant growth over the next four years.