DBJ runs successful venture capital conference and workshop

About 500 participants attended the Development Bank of Jamaica's (DBJ) third Venture Capital Conference and Entrepreneur's Workshop in Kingston, which closed on March 9.

Using the theme 'The Power of Smart Capital - expanding the financial landscape, fuelling innovation, driving entrepreneurship', the event was a 'must attend' for investors, fund managers, bankers, financial advisers and intermediaries, business owners, entrepreneurs and policymakers within the private and public sectors. A strong line-up of successful international and local entrepreneurs, and other speakers, made presentations. The event featured keynote presentations, plenaries, roundtable discussions, a 'fireside chat', as well as networking sessions.

The events kicked off on March 7 with an invitation-only think tank for public- and private-sector stakeholders and investors seeking to boost infrastructure development in Jamaica for economic growth. Facilitator was Adam Nicolopoulos, founder of ADN, a company which delivers advisory services to private and public clients on the development, financing and implementation of energy and related projects. This closed-door session looked at best practices worldwide and provided the opportunity to learn how to best position Jamaica for economic growth with private equity funding for infrastructure development.

SOLID, PRACTICAL ADVICE

The featured presenter was Chinedu Echeruo, tech entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Gigameet.com a cause-based fundraising and networking platform. He gave solid and practical advice to entrepreneurs, urging them to observe the "five Cs of entrepreneurship: credibility, clarity, conviction, capital and concentration in execution". The DBJ brought Echeruo to Jamaica to share his vast experience and the participants had the opportunity to hear, first-hand, his journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur and, during the 'fireside chat', the story behind the man.

Other speakers included Joseph Matalon, chairman of DBJ, who officially opened the conference; Audrey Richards, Jamaica Venture Capital Project coordinator, who spoke on the topic 'The Evolution of Jamaica's Venture Capital Industry'; Paul Ahlstrom, founder, Alta Ventures, United States, and author of Nail It, Then Scale It, who spoke to the topic, 'Taking Stock ... Strategies to Guarantee Failure'.

The entrepreneurs' workshop was dedicated to small businesses, entrepreneurs, and start-ups. There were discussions on global trends, with a focus on the pace of change for the business environment and what entrepreneurs need to know about positioning their brand.