Growth & Jobs | DBJ creates $100m grant fund to support local inventors, entrepreneurs

INVENTORS AND entrepreneurs can now access funding support under the Development Bank of Jamaica’s (DBJ) $100-million patent grant facility.

Manager for DBJ’s Boosting Innovation, Growth and Entrepreneurship Ecosystems (BIGEE) Programme, Christopher Brown, made the announcement on Thursday, October 27.

The BIGEE Programme, under which the patent grant falls, is designed to boost entrepreneurial development in Jamaica.

Brown said a maximum of $4 million will be provided to each successful inventor, researcher, and entrepreneur to file patent applications locally and internationally for their products or inventions. The funds will cover up to 80 per cent of the project cost.

“The intent is to get [these individuals] to be able to create commercial value out of their ideas and inventions, and one of the steps in doing this is to protect ideas. We really want [them] to protect their ideas, so that they will be able to operate in specific jurisdictions without anyone else being able to use their ideas,” he explained.

The period of protection will span two decades from the filing date.

Consequently, Brown is inviting interested persons with novel ideas to apply for grant support at www.thinkbigee.com.

However, they must first submit a patent application to the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), which is one of the technical support partners. They must also engage an approved patent attorney before approaching the DBJ.

The application period will close on November 25 and businesses must be registered in Jamaica to be considered.

Additionally, eligible products and inventions must have public utility, and be environmentally safe and patentable.

In the meantime, Executive Director of JIPO Lilyclaire Bellamy is advising prospective applicants to check with her office to ensure that they do not replicate existing solutions.

“I cannot think of many jurisdictions where they would provide a grant. This is not a loan. We are giving you the money to allow you to protect your invention and, depending on the invention that you have, you may end up employing several persons,” Bellamy added.

Other organisations collaborating on the initiative are The University of the West Indies, University of Technology, Northern Caribbean University, and the Caribbean Climate Innovation Centre.

JIS