I recently addressed students at The University of the West Indies’ inaugural International Undergraduate Student Leadership Conference and Entrepreneurship Exhibition, organised under the leadership of Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Canute Thompson.
My message was straightforward: Jamaica has enormous talent, but too many of us limit our ambitions before we even begin.
We tell ourselves we did not attend the right school, come from the right family, have sufficient capital, know influential people, or possess the connections needed to succeed.
Some of these concerns are legitimate. Wealth, class, family connections, and access to education create real advantages. Discrimination and inequality exist, and we must continue addressing them.
But recognising these realities cannot become a permanent justification for inaction.
You may have to knock on 10 doors while somebody with family connections only has to knock on one. That may be unfair. Knock on the 10 doors anyway. If necessary, knock on 11.
Your circumstances may explain your starting point. They do not have to dictate your destination.
SMALL BEGINNINGS TO GLOBAL BUSINESSES
Jamaica already has extraordinary examples of businesses that started modestly and grew into major enterprises.
Consider Sandals. Gordon “Butch” Stewart started with one hotel in Montego Bay in 1981. Today, under the leadership of his son, Adam Stewart, Sandals is preparing for another major phase of international expansion.
The recently announced agreement for Royal Caribbean Group to acquire a 50 per cent equity interest in Sandals and Beaches Resorts for approximately US$3 billion places an implied value of roughly US$6 billion on the business.
Adam Stewart has also outlined plans for approximately 7,000 additional jobs as the company develops new hotels, including properties beyond the Caribbean.
Think about that journey. One hotel in Montego Bay has evolved into an internationally recognised hospitality enterprise employing more than 18,000 people.
The Musson Group under P.B. Scott, Musson has grown from its Jamaican wholesale and distribution roots into a diversified group operating across approximately 30 countries, employing more than 7,000 people and generating annual turnover exceeding US$1.6 billion.
Its businesses include Seprod, now a major manufacturing and distribution enterprise with extensive regional reach.
GraceKennedy, established in Jamaica in 1922, has similarly developed into a major international food and financial-services group, with operations and products reaching markets across the Caribbean, North America, and Europe.
These businesses were built over time through investment, partnerships, professional management, calculated risks, and a willingness to pursue opportunities beyond Jamaica.
And importantly, another generation is emerging.
Sanmerna Paper Products, established in 2003 by brothers Robert and Mark White, has grown from humble beginnings into a significant Jamaican manufacturer employing nearly 200 people. The company now produces thousands of cases of tissue products daily and is pursuing further factory expansion and export opportunities.
Rock Solid Plastics, established in 2020 with just five employees, now employs around 40 people and has expanded its production capacity to approximately 150 water tanks daily.
I have visited both operations and seen the commitment, reinvestment, and determination behind their growth.
These are precisely the enterprises Jamaica needs to encourage. Companies that move from micro to small, small to medium, and medium to large.
Small is where you start. It does not have to be where you finish.
Their success matters beyond the owners. Growing businesses create employment, purchase goods and services from other Jamaican companies, support contractors, generate tax revenues, and, where they export, earn valuable foreign exchange.
TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING THE RULES
Artificial intelligence and digital commerce are rapidly transforming how businesses operate.
Stanford University’s 2026 AI Index reported that 88 per cent of surveyed organisations used AI in at least one business function in 2025.
Amazon, Shein, and Temu have demonstrated how technology can fundamentally change retail and consumer behaviour. Jamaican businesses face greater competition, but they also have unprecedented access to international customers.
The same technology that allows somebody in China to sell to Jamaica allows somebody in Jamaica to sell to the world.
Rainforest Caribbean, established in 1997, has demonstrated the possibilities by developing export markets across numerous countries, including China. We cannot approach a digital global economy with an analogue mindset.
DISCIPLINE, PARTNERSHIPS, AND PREPARATION
Through my work at the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, I regularly encounter investors interested in Jamaica and Jamaican business opportunities.
But enthusiasm alone is insufficient.
Entrepreneurs need proper financial records, credible business plans, clear ownership structures, realistic projections, and the ability to explain their markets. Networking and emotional intelligence matter enormously. So do partnerships.
Sometimes owning a smaller share of a much larger, successful enterprise is more rewarding than insisting on controlling 100 per cent of a business that never grows.
Delayed gratification is equally important. Not every profit should immediately finance a new vehicle, expensive lifestyle, or unnecessary consumption. Serious businesses require savings, reinvestment, discipline, and patience.
Our ministry and its agencies, including JAMPRO, the Jamaica Business Development Corporation, and other entities, are working to strengthen the business environment, support MSMEs, facilitate investment, and increase exports.
Government has a responsibility to improve infrastructure, reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, support skills development, and create opportunities.
But government cannot supply your ambition. It cannot manufacture your discipline, build your relationships, or execute your business idea.
Jamaica has already produced globally competitive companies and promising new manufacturers. We need many more.
We need young Jamaicans thinking not only about securing employment but also about building enterprises that will employ others.
The opportunities will not be equally accessible to everyone, and we must keep working to change that. But our ambitions should not be confined by our starting circumstances.
Think bigger. Prepare better. Build businesses that can grow well beyond our shores.
Delano Seiveright is minister of state in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce and Member of Parliament for St Andrew North Central. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com
