Essential Afro-Latino/ Caribbean Current Events

[Yehuda]

Expedia Reports Demand Growth For Curaçao

Published On: Wed, Dec 9th, 2015

WILLEMSTAD – Expedia group, one of the world’s largest online travel companies, is pleased to announce that travel demand for Curacao hotels have increased on all Expedia group sites this year.

The data indicates that the United States remains a key feeder market for Curacao with a growth of room night bookings of nearly 50 percent in the third quarter compared to 2014. The data also reported that bookings from Canada increased over 15 percent year over year. Mobile bookings for Curacao have also grown in the third quarter of the year, with over 45 percent increase compared to the same time in 2014.

Last week, Expedia’s Market Management team attended the North American Tour Operators Symposium, Curacao’s premier trade event. Throughout symposium, Expedia executives shared the latest news including information on innovative marketing tools and recommendations on how hotel partners can take advantage of the company’s mobile technologies, tools and market intelligence to achieve increased visibility and incremental demand for their properties.

“While demand from the United States and the Netherlands continues to play a vital role in shaping Curacao’s tourism landscape, Canada has also emerged as an important market this year with a significant increase in bookings,” said Demetrius Canton, Director of Lodging Partner Services for the Caribbean, for Expedia group. “Attending NATOS and meeting with valued partners provided our Market Management team the opportunity to strategize about capitalizing on these new markets in the year ahead.”

Expedia continues to form new partnerships in the region, adding more properties to its portfolio, thereby advancing the company’s commitment to driving tourism growth. By working with Expedia group, hotels in Curacao gain exposure to the more than 150 websites in more than 70 countries worldwide, in addition to a myriad of mobile sites and apps, from brands such as Expedia®, Hotels.com®, Hotwire®, Egencia®, Travelocity® and Venere®.

Click Tag(s) for Related Articles:

• Economy
• Expedia
• Tourism

Expedia reports demand growth for Curaçao

 

[BigMan]

Expedia Reports Demand Growth For Curaçao

Published On: Wed, Dec 9th, 2015

WILLEMSTAD – Expedia group, one of the world’s largest online travel companies, is pleased to announce that travel demand for Curacao hotels have increased on all Expedia group sites this year.

The data indicates that the United States remains a key feeder market for Curacao with a growth of room night bookings of nearly 50 percent in the third quarter compared to 2014. The data also reported that bookings from Canada increased over 15 percent year over year. Mobile bookings for Curacao have also grown in the third quarter of the year, with over 45 percent increase compared to the same time in 2014.

Last week, Expedia’s Market Management team attended the North American Tour Operators Symposium, Curacao’s premier trade event. Throughout symposium, Expedia executives shared the latest news including information on innovative marketing tools and recommendations on how hotel partners can take advantage of the company’s mobile technologies, tools and market intelligence to achieve increased visibility and incremental demand for their properties.

“While demand from the United States and the Netherlands continues to play a vital role in shaping Curacao’s tourism landscape, Canada has also emerged as an important market this year with a significant increase in bookings,” said Demetrius Canton, Director of Lodging Partner Services for the Caribbean, for Expedia group. “Attending NATOS and meeting with valued partners provided our Market Management team the opportunity to strategize about capitalizing on these new markets in the year ahead.”

Expedia continues to form new partnerships in the region, adding more properties to its portfolio, thereby advancing the company’s commitment to driving tourism growth. By working with Expedia group, hotels in Curacao gain exposure to the more than 150 websites in more than 70 countries worldwide, in addition to a myriad of mobile sites and apps, from brands such as Expedia®, Hotels.com®, Hotwire®, Egencia®, Travelocity® and Venere®.

Click Tag(s) for Related Articles:

• Economy
• Expedia
• Tourism

Expedia reports demand growth for Curaçao

i def wanna go there

 

[Yehuda]

Diaspora urged to consider Jamaica for investments

By PETULIA CLARKE Associate editor clarkep@jamaicaobserver.com

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Wayne Cummings, Sandals Resorts’ director of business processes and administration, chats with contributor Marjorie LaRoche during the COJO celebrations in New York last weekend.

NEW YORK, USA — Wayne Cummings, Sandals Resorts’ director, business processes and administration, has listed the contribution of the diaspora to Jamaica as hugely beneficial, even as he urged investors to consider Jamaica for their businesses.

Speaking to sponsors and US-based Jamaicans last Saturday night at the Children of Jamaica Outreach (COJO) 21st annual gala and awards ceremony at the Hilton, JFK, Cummings, the guest of honour, implored those in attendance to take another look at Jamaica as a place to do business and raise their families.

“No need to give up any of your allegiances; it’s a global space so use it to its full avail. We need and appreciate the remittances, so please keep that coming, but also look again at the ‘Rock’ as a place to do business and make money,” he said.

“With all our faults, Jamaica and Jamaicans remain an exciting proposition. The proverbial chicken and egg is what’s holding us back, but I am firmly of the view that what’s going to make the difference for our people and country is the provision of jobs and opportunities for all, not just some of our people. So the entrepreneurs and investors among you, bring your capitalist aspirations home and see if we can’t find some hard-working Jamaicans to make you proud. Remember though, while you consider the possibilities, that the Spanish, Chinese and others are eyeing these opportunities too.”

Cummings explained that the remittances that flow through the financial institutions must never be underestimated, but said Jamaica is ripe for investments, and it’s time for Jamaicans to take on the growth agenda and not wait for Government to lead it.

“I have worked over 26 years in the tourism industry and have seen it grow from strength to strength and in so doing understand how hard it is to ensure the $2.1 billion of annual inflows into the country,” the former Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association president said.

“Conversely, the seeming ease by which the $1.9 billion of remittances that come to Jamaica arrive there, belies that blood sweat and tears you experience to make this happen.”

He acknowledged that on every front, other than economic, Jamaica punches higher than its weight.

“In sports, academics, tourism, food, diplomacy and even science, we have stand-out examples of world- leading personalities, products and bodies of work that we can point to as being unrivalled,” he said.

“Unfortunately though, as a country we continue to be anaemic in our economic growth. [But] we can all agree on the fact that for the first time in a long time Jamaica has regained the respect of the multilaterals by having now successfully completed 10 quarters of IMF reviews. Politics aside, this must not be scoffed at. Our access to vital capital is there to be seen both from the international capital markets as well as from the local banking sector. Albeit that the fiscal fundamentals are becoming aligned, the country is still a far cry from the economic recovery that we need.”

Cummings explained that the truest test of economic reform is when the economy grows with real jobs and individual and personal wealth is created.

“The parts that are already on the mend are structural reforms that remove ministerial interference from investment incentives and tax obligations,” he said.

Cummings said sadly, though, these fundamentals remain academic and a “pie in the sky” unless it trickles down to the poorest of our people.

“I am on the fence as to what represents the best kind of democracy — one that has given us a ping-pong type of exchange between two parties that today really don’t represent fundamentally different ideas, or one that should guarantee us performers who bring real thoughtful and strategic growth to the country and its people,” he said.

He explained that he was personally conflicted about voting this time around, even as Jamaica prepares to head to the polls, as the choices seem one and the same.

“For the first time I am personally struggling with the choice I should make. I am not hearing from either side what they intend to do to unlock the hundreds of thousands of jobs that the economy needs to put us on a path to real prosperity,” he declared.

“Being a Caribbean business is not all bad. Being a Caribbean manufacturer or business opens up markets across the entire Caricom space with evermore easing of tariff barriers within the region.”

COJO has, since 1994, been caring for children living in poverty in Jamaica and in the New York metropolitan area through educational, medical and recreational programmes. Its contributions over the years total in excess of US$500,000 in supplies and scholarships. The charity relies on individual and collective support whether by making tax-deductible donations or by volunteering time.

Diaspora urged to consider Jamaica for investments - News

 

[Jammer22]

Been thinking about how I could get in on that too. Especially with that huge logistics hub project in the works. Heard the agricultural processing was a good area to invest in as well.

 

[Yehuda]

Bandleaders: The show will go on

By VERNE BURNETT Thursday, December 17 2015

Carnival bandleaders David Cameron and Ronnie McIntosh firmly believe that Carnival will go ahead as usual next year regardless of the recent announcement that the country is in a recession. The two echoed the sentiments of Kenny Da Silva, chairman of the National Carnival Commission.

McIntosh, leader of Ronnie and Caro the Mas Band, said the Central Bank Governor’s statement was too recent and the mas fraternity will not react so quickly. He also said he was waiting for the Minister of Finance to complete his consultations with the Central Statistical Office (CSO) and make a declaration.

Cameron, who heads Trini Revellers, said it is difficult to say to what extent the announcement will affect mas players because Trinidadians have a habit of buying their costumes at the last minute, whenever Carnival happens to be.

“You will get a lot of foreign orders and other mas enthusiasts booking earlier but the brunt of business for all bands, not only large bands, takes place in the early part of the year between January and March.

With Carnival taking place on February 8 and 9, 2016, he said things will be busy in the month of January to ensure costumes are distributed on time.

Cameron added, “As far as I know bands are preparing for Carnival 2016 in the usual manner. That is they have to purchase their materials in advance so most of them would have purchased their materials. They are now in production mode, possibly they may be in a review mode but that would be a personal decision by the respective bands. So each band has its own base and its own loyalty and its own following so it will differ.”

He said the announcement that the country was in a recession should have no impact on the price of costumes. When it was suggested that there might be need for a reduction, Cameron said, “My friend, in business I don’t know how often we see that. You see, to get a reduction, other things will have to happen and we haven’t reached there yet. Do we get duty free concessions on decorative materials? Do we impose a surtax on imported costumes in order to protect the local craft people?”

Cameron noted that some of the companies which usually sponsor mas have already indicated that they have to be very prudent in the New Year and there will be adjustments.

While he admits there weren’t a large number of sponsors, he said they do assist in mitigating some of the costs associated with producing mas.

He said the sponsors do not give handouts and it was usually a case of ‘what is in it for me.” Bandleaders, he said, have to show sponsors where and how they could advertise their product and promote it. In this vein, he said the large mas bands have a lot to offer: they have a number of trucks, banners, websites and a number of other ways they could promote a brand.

“They have a decided advantage when it comes to giving coverage to a brand. So that you the band leader have to be very prudent in negotiating and what you are offering, because you’ve got to offer something.”

Cameron also lamented that there was not enough time to promote and advertise Carnival 2016. Recalling the Ebola scare in 2015 which he said dissuaded many people from playing mas, he said there should have been a big drive to advertise and promote the upcoming Carnival abroad, “because we have a lot of competition and other activities taking place around the same time. You have Brazil Carnival, you have Carnival in New Orleans two months afterwards.

“Not because you are a Trinidadian and you are accustomed playing mas that you are coming to play every year. You have to promote it too because I am telling you that people have other attractions, so we have to promote the festival in a meaningful way.”

He said the public should have been alerted to the launch of Carnival earlier this year. “The Ministry of Culture must be liaising with the different High Commission offices in the UK (Notting Hill); Broward; Toronto in order to do mini launches… and invite all the travel agents, media, etc, so you will have a mini show presenting costumes of Trinidad and Tobago. Things like that will start a focus and put Carnival in the minds of all.”

Bandleader McIntosh told Business Day that his mas camp was also running as normal, and although masqueraders had made deposits they still had a final payment to make. He said the band is not totally sold out “so we are still depending on masqueraders to come in.” He noted masqueraders are joining the band at the usual pace for December and said he would have to wait until after Christmas to make an assessment of what effect the tough economic times were having on masqueraders. “At this point the (Central Bank Governor’s) statement is having no effect at all.”

He declined to speculate on what effect the recession would have on Carnival in 2017. “You see, Carnival is special to Trinidad and Tobago. It’s also a money maker. Some people do not pay attention to the kind of income Carnival generates so Carnival also adds to the economy so let us not speculate on 2017 now. As I said, Carnival generates income unlike a lot of things in this country.”

He criticised what he called “out of timing” statements which he said are often made around Carnival time, saying that last year there was the issue of Ebola which put off a lot of masqueraders. He said he still had costumes in boxes from Carnival 2015, but declined to say how many or what was the financial impact on the band. According to Ronnie, there were many bands which did not stage their presentations and there were a lot of cancellations based on the statements which were made about Ebola.

Trini Revellers is celebrating Woodbrook with its 2016 presentation, “A Touch of Woodbrook Then and Now.” Costumes range from $2,100 to $4,800

Ronnie and Caro is catering for approximately 1,500 masqueraders in 2016 with the price of costumes ranging from $3,500 to $6,000.

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : newsday.co.tt :

 

[Yehuda]

Democratic senators introduce Puerto Rico legislation

Politics | Mon Dec 21, 2015 12:56pm EST

Harold Lopez (R) reads a newspaper while riding on the metro train in San Juan, December 2, 2015.
REUTERS/ALVIN BAEZ

Democratic senators introduced emergency legislation for Puerto Rico to establish a short-term stay on creditor litigation to allow the debt-ridden island to restructure its debts, according to a press release from Senator Richard Blumenthal's office on Monday.

Puerto Rico, wrestling with $72 billion of debt and a faltering economy, defaulted on part of its debt in August and may default on part of a payment of around $1 billion due Jan. 1.

The U.S. Treasury has urged Congress to act quickly to address the island's debt crisis and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said last week it is "essential" that Puerto Rico be given access to a mechanism to restructure its debt.

The legislation - the Puerto Rico Emergency Financial Stability Act - introduced by Senators Blumenthal, Elizabeth Warren, Harry Reid and Charles Schumer, is identical to that introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, the statement said.

On Friday, Pelosi sought to rush a bill aiding Puerto Rico onto the House floor but was blocked by Republicans, who control the chamber.

"If Congress waits until a messy and disruptive default has begun, the price of addressing the crisis - in both dollars and human suffering of our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico - will be immense and irreparable," Blumenthal said in the statement.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said last week he had instructed committees to work with Puerto Rico's government to come up with a solution to the island's financial problems and said this should be crafted by the end of March. The House is expected to hold a Jan. 5 hearing on the U.S. territory's financial problems.

(Reporting by Megan Davies; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Democratic senators introduce Puerto Rico legislation

 

[Yehuda]

Barbados to finally dump Queen Elizabeth

Bert Wilkinson | 12/24/2015, midnight

Tiny, idyllic Barbados, a place where British tourists have persistently said they are most comfortable visiting in the entire hemisphere, now says that it plans to dump Queen Elizabeth as the island’s head of state—just in time for the country’s 50th independence anniversary next year.

No longer comfortable with a white, elderly granny as its ceremonial head of state, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart told governing Labor Party delegates recently that he wants her gone before celebrations begin for the anniversary in late November. Once that becomes a reality, it would mean that Barbados would have beaten Jamaica, widely considered to be the most upstart small island nation in the world, to this achievement.

Jamaica has for decades been making noise about getting rid of the queen and replacing her with a Black or Brown local to symbolize ultimate ceremonial power. However, nothing is expected from the administration of Portia Simpson-Miller in the coming months, as she and her National Party have to first retain power in general elections expected in the first quarter.

The Barbadians, or “Bajans” as they are commonly called, have actually set a date and are planning to put all systems in place for a local to be the titular head of things Bajan in the coming months. Neighboring Guyana and Trinidad have long done so and have an executive and ceremonial president respectively. Even tiny Dominica in the Eastern Caribbean group of small islands has its own local president.

“We respect [the queen] very highly as head of the Commonwealth and accept that she and all of her successors will continue to be at the apex of our political understanding. But in terms of Barbados’s constitutional status, we have to move from a monarchical system to a republican form of government in the very near future,” he told a party delegates conference.” We don't expect any opposition coming from the opposition party. This will move the country through to the next major step in the process of nationhood.” Stuart went so far as to say that he finds “it awkward in the year 2015 to have to stand up and pledge allegiance to ‘Her Majesty the Queen.’”

The 166-square-mile island of about of about 300,000 has already struck the first blow in long voting to abolish Britain’s Privy Council as its final court of appeal. Instead, it has joined Guyana, Belize and Dominica in being signatories to the criminal and civil appeals section of the Trinidad-based, umbrella Caribbean Court of Justice.

Jamaica has done neither. Parliamentary debates on the regional court have collapsed so no one expects that a move to get rid of Elizabeth would make any progress on the island. When Barbados bolts from the queen next year, it would reduce the number of countries where she still holds sway to less than 20, but there are still big names such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Not many other Caribbean island nations are talking about getting rid of her even as they struggle with what mechanisms to use to delink from the British court as their final judicial arbiter.

Barbados to finally dump Queen Elizabeth

 

[BigMan]

i mean she has no power anyway but good for Bim. Jamaica should have long become a republic

 

[Yehuda]

Insecurity in Dominican Countryside Threatens Local Food Supply

By Ivet González

Cecilia Joseph is a small farmer in Mata Mamón who says she crossed the border from Haiti “when I was just a girl.” Credit: Dionny Matos

MATA MAMÓN, Dominican Republic , Dec 28 2015 (IPS) - “Sometimes we have too much water, which washes everything away,” Cecilia Joseph, originally from Haiti, said in heavily accented Spanish while pulling up a ñame root (a kind of yam) on her farm in the municipality of Santo Domingo Norte in the Dominican Republic.

Joseph was referring to the frequent flooding caused when the Ozama, Cabón and Tosa rivers, which run through the rural area of Mata Mamón 30 km north of the Dominican capital, overflow their banks.

The heavy rains hurt her subsistence crops – corn, banana, papaya, avocado, ñame and mango – which sometimes produce a surplus that she sells, complained this small, thin, agile 70-year-old.

Cecé, as she is known here, depends completely on her one-hectare farm for a living, because her son and her husband are both dead.

This community of 1,714 inhabitants, where most people are small farmers like Joseph, is one of 1,100 that are registered by the civil defence agency in the province of Santo Domingo as vulnerable to flooding and landslides due to the overflowing of rivers and the lack of stormwater drainage systems.

Besides the threats posed to their health – and to their very lives – local farmers consulted by IPS say the environmental problem has reduced their production levels, and as a result they don’t have enough food anymore to feed their families.

“Five years ago I stopped planting rice and pumpkin on the land next to the river, because it overflowed its banks more and more frequently, to the point that it wasn’t worth investing there, just to lose everything,” said 56-year-old José Corcino, who also works as a skilled construction worker to support his family.

To feed his family, José Corcino plants crops and raises pigs in his backyard, which the floodwaters reach when the nearby river overflows its banks. Credit: Dionny Matos

“We have made several requests through the United Hearts Association of Farmers of Mata Mamón for the state to dredge the rivers so they won’t overflow their banks. But everything has been in vain. We still can’t plant our crops,” complained Corcino, one of the more than 100 members of the organisation.

“We are going hungry because we don’t grow enough to be able to swap products with other local farmers,” he said. “And we don’t have markets here. Sometimes people come in trucks, selling vegetables and things, or we have to go and shop at La Victoria, which is six km away.”

Corcino, a father of three, grows banana, guava, soursop, avocado and mango to feed his family, on the one-hectare plot of land where his house is located. And farther away, on a 1.5-hectare plot where he used to grow rice, he grazes his 15 head of cattle, mainly dairy cows.

“Every afternoon I bring the cattle to my yard because the thieves take everything,” he said, referring to another factor that is a hindrance to agriculture. In his view, what the farmers in Mata Manón need is less vandalism and rustling, and more environmental services and investment, to boost local food production.

Today, 1.5 million of the Dominican Republic’s 9.3 million inhabitants are still malnourished, even though the country managed to reduce the number of people suffering from hunger in the last 20 years, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FA0).

As they chat, local men point to the town, which is mainly populated by people originally from neighbouring Haiti or descendants of Haitians. Credit: Dionny Matos

Food insecurity and poverty are largely rural phenomena in this Caribbean nation which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, according to the Panorama of Food and Nutritional Security in Central America and Dominican Republic 2014, published for the first time this year by FAO.

In fields in the Dominican Republic, where food availability is determined, it is small farmers and blacks who suffer the most, according to the study.

“Peasant farmers have to feel security for themselves and their families in terms of labour, income, food, and access to school and healthcare. And environmental security is also important, because sometimes heavy rains fall and wipe away their crops,” said Manuel Rodríguez at the Labour Ministry’s Agriculture Office.

He said the office offers advice to help generate more secure jobs, as part of a larger government programme aimed at increasing employment in agriculture from the current 20 percent to 40 percent of the total workforce.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, only 609,197 people work in this sector: 559,428 men and 49,769 women.

“Peasants are abandoning their land today because there isn’t any money or work. But in the next few years, the Dominican countryside is going to undergo a radical change,” the official predicted.

The project will also involve technological modernisation projects like the expansion of greenhouse areas, initiatives for incorporating more women in farming, reduced interest payments to the agricultural bank, and more credit for farmers.

The Dominican Republic is a major exporter of peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers, while production of Chinese vegetables is growing, said Rodríguez. This country is also one of the world’s leading exporters of organic tropical products like bananas.

However, Dominican society is marked by a high level of inequality, and hunger and malnutrition are still top-priority problems, as recognised by the authorities when parliament approved a law on food and nutritional sovereignty and security in 2014.

Mata Mamón, a “batey” – a term that refers to rural shantytowns that originally sprung up on sugarcane plantations, as well as to urban slums surrounding cities and populated mainly by Haitians and Dominican-Haitians – is an area of potted roads lined by earth-floored wooden shacks and a few modest cinder-block dwellings.

“We have made some progress in education and among the youth, who have calmed down,” said Cornelio Guzmán, chairman of the Human Rights Committee for the last 15 years, with regard to the declining rates of juvenile delinquency and the construction of a local school.

“With respect to economic questions, the community has almost no income because the rivers destroy the crops and it’s impossible to fight the theft of cattle, goats and pigs, because we only have one policeman,” lamented the 44-year-old activist.

Edited by Verónica Firme/Translated by Stephanie Wildes

Insecurity in Dominican Countryside Threatens Local Food Supply | Inter Press Service

 

[BigMan]

 

[Jammer22]

Turner Innovations - Reaping Success From The Backyard
Published:Friday | January 15, 2016 | 12:00 AM

Jermaine Barnaby
Allison Turner talks about the machine (seen behind her) used to prepare sorrel.

Turner Innovations Limited is the recipient of the 2015 Gleaner Honour Award (Special Award) in the category Science and Technology.

Six years ago, husband and wife Oral and Allison Turner were relaxing at home one evening, thinking about a way to make life easier for sorrel farmers.

Oral, a trained welder and farm store operator, was spurred into action after one of his customers visited him at his store and told him that he was about to abandon a field of sorrel because it would be too expensive to reap.

Allison recalls her husband toying with several ideas and, at one point, he was having sleepless nights. Unknown to her, he had run an electric line into the garden and was toying with a new invention. The sorrel-harvesting machine was in its embryonic stage.

"After about three months, I was in the kitchen and he came in and said, 'Look, I have done it!' He had the sorrel flesh in his hand and the seed in the other," Allison said.

But after having made this invention, Oral covered it with a blanket, wrapped it with duct tape, and left it sitting in the garden for two years.

However, following a conversation with a friend, the Turners soon realised they may have been sitting on a goldmine all along. The duct tape was peeled off, the blanket lifted, and Turner Innovations Limited was born.

The one-of-a-kind machine feeds picked sorrel buds into the funnel-shaped invention to tear the calyx away from the seed, separating the two.

Turner Innovations Limited is this year's recipient of a special award in the category of Science & Technology in The Gleaner Honour Awards. The company is being recognised for its invention of the Sorrel Harvesting Machine and its potential impact on the expansion of Jamaica's sorrel industry.

Typically, farmers employ labourers to hand-strip the buds at harvest, or a broken umbrella stick is used to push the seed up and through the base of the bud.

The Turners have so far created a small factory space at their Comma Pen, St Elizabeth home to commercialise the machine they invented, using $3 million in funding secured from the state-owned Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ).



'Next Amazing Thing'


Allison said that former agriculture minister, the late Roger Clarke, had viewed the machine and was blown away. He would eventually pave the way for them to get funding from the DBJ.

"He came down, took one look at the machine and said, 'This is the next amazing thing.'"

In addition to DBJ funding, the company secured funding from First Angels Jamaica, a network of mainly Jamaican companies and individuals, that finances promising start-up companies and projects.

Turner Innovations is contemplating a mobile service to harvest sorrel on farms around Jamaica, based on orders of 1,000 pounds or more. They project that the sorrel-stripping machine can handle 2,000 pounds of sorrel in half-a-day using one operator instead of the average 10 people that a sorrel producer would use to strip 1,000 pounds in a day.

"What we are doing as a company is showing that there is creation, and it can come from your back garden, and you can become wealthy," Allison said.

Allison claims that the decision by the DBJ to launch a grant fund facility aimed at driving innovation is a result of the success of Turner Innovations. The funding facility, known as Innovation Grant from New Ideas To Entrepreneurship (IGNITE), aims to support the creation and growth of new innovative firms in productive sectors.

"We have set the path now in Jamaica for other innovators to come forward and get grant funding, to be able to develop and take their business to the next level and put us on the map for something away from sports and singing. What that is going to do, in effect, is increase our income, and help a variety of people in different areas," Allison said.

"People are watching us, they are watching our journey, and they are being inspired as we go along."

However, the Turners recognised recently that they had a bit of a journey to go before the machine would be accepted by farmers.

"The machine is not where we want it to be. It works; it is doing a great job. We can use it for ourselves at the moment, but for the farmer who needs it, it is not where they need it to be," Allison said.

An engineer is due to visit from Canada to suggest ways in which the machine may be improved. Turner Innovations has said that when the invention is perfected, they may license it to a manufacturer which would reproduce them for use in the 22 countries around the world that now grow sorrel.

In the meantime, the Turners have resorted to drying sorrel from their garden, packaging it and are now in the process of getting it on supermarket shelves and on the export market.

 

[Yehuda]

Indian organisation urges Guyana to declare suicide a national priority

Friday, January 15, 2016

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — The Indian Action Committee (IAC) has called on the Government of Guyana to declare suicide a national priority.

The IAC said while it is heartened by the recent emergency meeting convened by President David Granger with some members of his Cabinet to discuss the issue, “there is an urgent need for the necessary infrastructure to be established”.

The IAC noted that the country’s suicide battle was hamstrung by an inadequate number of psychologists, but remained confident that a declaration of ‘National Priority’ would aid in boosting current efforts and presents an opportunity for attracting additional local and international support.

“This further underscores our request for a swift declaration and calls on civil society to lend support to this call.”

Given the continual and seemingly growing impact suicide has on families, communities and the country as a whole, the IAC said Guyana could ill afford such loses in its human resources.

“The IAC has laboured in the past for this declaration to be made which it believes, if realised, would bring a much needed sense of priority which in turn would necessitate the provision of the crucial human, technical and financial resources to educate and mitigate the circumstances that would propel people to end their lives,” said the organisation, formerly called the Indian Arrival Committee.

The organisation, meanwhile, repeated its call for all social and religious organisations to intensify their efforts to provide guidance and counselling where necessary to aid it the mitigation of this social ill.

The IAC encouraged those who may, for whatever reason, be contemplating or would have already, unfortunately, developed suicidal tendencies, to seek assistance where and if possible.

The IAC release followed the most recent case of suicide late Wednesday in which Michael Stoby, 23, committed suicide when his girlfriend decided to end their relationship .

Over the past five days there were four reported deaths by suicide and five attempts, of which some are still hospitalised.

Last week Thursday, Granger announced the implementation of a national programme in an effort to address the suicide rate.

Indian organisation urges Guyana to declare suicide a national priority - News

Just read Guyana is ranked first in suicides per capita worldwide. That's crazy.

 

[BigMan]

I'd prolly kill myself if I had to live inGuyana too fr fr

 

[Jammer22]

Jamaicans Facing Global Financial Fencing
Published:Monday | January 18, 2016 | 12:00 AM

Dr Damien King
The erosion of options for Jamaicans and those in the wider Caribbean to conduct international financial transactions because of tough global banking regulations will be discussed at a forum tomorrow.

Economist Dr Damien King said the challenge to banking regulations goes well beyond restrictions on basic transactions such as remittances and wire transfers. King will be the main presenter at the Roundtable Discussion on Correspondent Banking, to be held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

"Even someone who works as a receptionist at a company which imports raw materials will be affected by the diminished capacity of that company to access trade credit," the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI) co-executive director said. "The implications are severe."

The growing problem is the result of regulations implemented largely over the past decade intended to tackle money laundering and the financing of terrorism. These onerous regulations pose a threat to the well-being financial institutions in smaller economies and therefore to the whole economies that they underpin, the University of the West Indies lecturer explained.

COMPLIANCE COSTS
"The increased regulatory burden on financial institutions has increased the compliance cost of carrying out transactions," he said. "And, the response by the institutions is to end 'correspondent banking relationships' with other institutions for which the small volume of transactions does not justify the increased compliance cost."

Smaller countries are the ones most seriously affected by this 'de-risking' process as they generate a smaller volume of business, and are thus less likely to cover the increased cost of doing business with them, he stated. It is thus easier for large financial institutions to stop doing business, or threaten to stop doing business with their counterparts in places like Jamaica. "Therefore," King pointed out, "Caribbean countries are among those facing the most severe consequences from this development."

One direct example of the impact of this 'de-risking' was the tripling of cambio closures in 2014, after some local banks, under threat from their overseas counterparts, closed the accounts of cambio operations. Without banking services, many cambios have ceased operating.

Correspondent banking relations can also impact the processing of transactions involving the provision of cash, cheques, and money orders, as well as credit and debit cards by one bank on behalf of another.

The impact of this development on the wider region will be addressed by the former prime minister of Barbados, Owen Arthur, who will share his perspective as a senior regional government leader. Other regional views will come from Joseph Cox, assistant secretary general, CARICOM Secretariat; Toussant Boyce, head of the Corporate Integrity Division, Caribbean Development Bank, and Joanna Charles, chair, Caribbean Association of Banks.

Contributions will also be made by Christopher Tufton, co-executive director of CaPRI; and Earl Jarrett, general manager of the Jamaica National Building Society.

Organised by CaPRI, the discussion will be attended by representatives of the Bank of Jamaica; Financial Services Commission; Jamaica Bankers Association; Jamaica Money Remitters Association; the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, as well as financial institutions.

EDIT: Damn.
....... Hope people still got the will to do small biz. Could be fear-mongering though too..

 

[BigMan]

December 13, 2015

There is an e-finance revolution taking place in Africa. It is called e-money or mobile money and it makes use of cell phone technology thereby bypassing brick and mortar banks. In the middle of this revolution you will find a Jamaican, Lascelles “Butch” Chen, who has lived in East Africa for over 25 years.

In 2013, Chen founded MEDMobile Limited a private limited liability company in Nairobi, Kenya by assembling a team that includes, a micro finance banking practitioner, an expert in rural finance, best practices and knowledge management, an ICT development and marketing professional and entrepreneur, expert software developers and programmers, a senior finance and management specialist, and a corporate lawyer to develop e-money software applications.

Chen is now marketing the Chama Mobile Software Application (CMSA) to Financial Service Providers (FSPs) to deliver a truly national outreach, and an all-inclusive e-money based Grameen type savings and credit service. All customers can access this financial service only through the SMS and e-money services of their mobile network operator (MNO). The service is basic, simple to learn, to teach, and to use.

MedMobile’s initial focus is on the rural and remote rural communities of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, where approximately 84 million people live.

How did you end up in East Africa?

From my teenage years I had always been a Pan-Africanist, and the possibility of living and working in Africa was one of my main ambitions to achieve before my 30th birthday. I had the opportunity to travel to East Africa in 1986 to visit some other Jamaicans who were living in Tanzania and Ethiopia, and I also visited Kenya. I then chose to move to Kenya which at the time looked to be a relatively easy country to settle in, especially that the people spoke English and their education system looked progressive.

Who or what motivated you to go into business?

As you can see from my name, I come from a Chinese family background, where doing some kind of business was the norm and not the exception. My grandfather (RIP) had a shop in Four Paths, Clarendon and my aunts, uncles and parents always had some business initiatives going on, even if they also had regular jobs. My mother also inculcated a strong work ethic in me, as I cannot remember a single holiday from school where she did not have a community-based income generating plan for me to become involved in. Jobs ranging from babysitting to painting wooden window louvers to working in construction….she had many friends in the public and private sector, who would always help her to find small jobs for me to do.

Two of her teachings that I have carried with me till this day are: “mama have and fada have, but blessed is di pickney dat have fi demself” and “hard work neva kill anybody yet, an so it won’t kill you either.”

Why this business?

The opportunity presented itself at this time and I was able to use my personal banking and finance expertise and network of professionals who have a similar mindset to mine and the conviction to develop this service for the masses.

Here in Tanzania (and indeed throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa), approximately 80% of the population live and work in agriculture in the rural and remote rural locations and hence have no access to formal financial services. I saw this as a massive challenge that was being addressed using the old brick and mortar approach in trying to expand financial services to the rural areas.

I was convinced that with the current level of ICT innovations which have created e-money platforms and ICT integration possibilities, that I could develop an application to facilitate the delivery of mass market financial services. The Grameen micro-finance banking methodology easily lent itself to full automation and I decided to use that methodology as the engine of a phone-based savings and credit ICT software application.

What is your competitive advantage in this industry?

Our product offers a service that has been approved by the Central Bank and a tried and tested methodology that has now been fully automated. We have been allowed to use the KYC (Know Your Customer) database of the MNO to facilitate rural based customers to open formal bank accounts, without having to travel at all.

How will the CMSA change the life of the customers?

It is a fact that wealth creation and economic advancement at all levels, i.e. from personal through corporate to national is based on savings accumulation. All the research that has been done on grass-roots (bottom of the pyramid) populations has shown that the most sought after financial service is savings, and more so, formal savings services.

The CMSA allows customers who are mobilized into groups to open bank accounts using their mobile phones. They are able to save and subsequently are able to access programmed (i.e. no application process) credit. This simple bundle of savings and credit services will help the customers to establish a strong financial foundation by acquiring assets and savings.

What is the Grameen micro-finance model?

The Grameen micro-finance model is a group-based financial service which uses cross-guaranteeing instead of collateral to secure the loans. Peer pressure has been the cornerstone of the long term success of this methodology that was invented by Prof Younis, who received a Noble Peace Prize for his work in this area of micro-finance technology in his home country, Bangladesh.

Members are in a group of 5 to 50 persons and agree to save a set amount every week. The group has three sub-groups for the lending cycles. After an initial period of four weeks of savings, loans are given to the first sub-group, and after another two weeks to the second sub-group and after another two weeks to the final sub-group. The loans are a multiple of the savings of the individual at the time of the loan offer.

The methodology is highly mathematical and even defaults can be comfortably planned for. Loan loss rates for this methodology are normally 5% or less, and it generates a substantive amount of loan interest to make it commercially viable, even within the brick and mortar approach.

How does the company earn its revenue in this business model?

Medmobile Ltd earns its revenue from the financial service provider who is using the CMSA. We earn a monthly commission income of US$1.00 for each customer who is on the system at the end of each month. So for example, if there are 100,000 customers on the system, we will earn US$100,000 for that given month.

However, in these MNO collaborations with commercial banks, we have seen very high customer uptake rates because of the massive nationwide advertisements. It is not uncommon to reach 1 million customers within the first 12 month period. Our current collaborating MNO already has over 10 million customers, so we are confident that our business model will be able to generate substantive revenue levels in the shortest possible time frame.

What were some early challenges that you faced?

Sorting out the technology design and finding the venture capital investors

Is there a favorite moment in business you can share?

When the first customers in the pilot test actually opened their bank account and set up their saving and credit group using their mobile phone….

What are some business challenges you currently face?

The slow pace of integration of the big companies that we need to collaborate with.

This sounds like a fantastic opportunity. Is it possible to invest in MedMobile?

There is still a limited amount of equity available in the company. Anyone interested can contact us through our website (www.medmobileltd.com) or through our Managing Director Mr. Fred Amisi at amisi.fa@medmobileltd.com.

Other than the money what types of satisfaction do you get out of your work?

I get my satisfaction from knowing that this mobile banking business model mobilizes the savings of the poor people and uses that same money to provide loans to them….turning the existing banking models upside down where they currently use the poor people’s savings to lend to the rich people.

How do you remind yourself of what’s important?

I currently live in a village where there is no piped water or electricity…our water is trucked in and our electricity comes from a solar system. Every day I see the poor people around me so I am constantly reminded of the work that needs to be done to help them…

Do you have a specific daily routine?

Yes…first it’s to wake my daughter and get her off to school…..then it’s just work, work, work until she gets home. Sometimes I am working here at home on the internet and sometimes I am traveling out to the villages to work with the local people there. If I am at home I take a small break to greet my daughter when she gets home and find out about her day. Then I get back to work till later when I break again to help her with her home work. Then it’s back to work for a few more hours till it’s time to shut down and wrap up the day’s home issues.

What do you do to unwind?

I like to play some reggae music (old time selections from Studio 1, Treasure Isle and Channel 1) on my music system, play my guitar, play with my daughter. I also like to take my daughter out to the park or swimming, and in the evenings I like to have some adult drink and a nice cigar to pass the time.

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born in Mandeville, Jamaica and grew up in Claremont, St Ann…then we moved to Harbour View and then Cassia Park off the Red Hills Rd in Kingston.

Your favorite Jamaican food is…?

Breakfast: ackee and saltfish, fry dumplings and plantain. Lunch or dinner: oxtail and broad beans with fish and rice and peas. We have a great Jamaican restaurant (Velisa’s Jamaican Restaurant) here in our capital city Dar es Salaam, which is run by a fantastic lady entrepreneur (Ms. Betty Delfosse-Ingleton), so I always go there when I visit the city.

By Dr. Glen Laman, Author of Jamaican Entrepreneurship. www.glenlaman.com