HANOVER, POINT — A pioneering initiative aimed at unlocking the entrepreneurial potential of young Jamaicans has officially launched in the parish of Hanover, bringing transformative opportunities for 48 ambitious student business owners and aspiring founders. Dubbed the Youth Entrepreneur Programme (YEP) Competition, the first initiative of its kind across Jamaica, is the result of a collaborative partnership between the Social Development Commission (SDC) and Infiniti Co-operative Credit Union, with additional support from local political leadership. The launch ceremony was hosted Wednesday at the Grand Palladium Hotel, drawing attendees from across the education, finance and public sectors.
The programme draws participants from four of Hanover’s six high schools: Rusea’s High, Green Island High, Merlene Ottey High, and Knockalva Technical High. The 12-week competition will run through to a final judging and awards event scheduled for June 10, giving young founders time to launch and scale their ideas. Every approved participant — whether entering as an individual or a small team — will receive JMD $10,000 in seed capital, deposited directly into a dedicated Infiniti Co-operative Credit Union youth savings account. To secure a spot in the competition, all submitted ventures were required to meet three core criteria: they must address an unmet need in the participants’ school or local community, feature a clear element of innovation, and demonstrate viable potential for long-term operation beyond the programme timeline.
For many participating students, the programme offers a critical stepping stone to grow ideas they have already begun building from scratch. Jessica Gray, a ninth-grade student at Rusea’s High, already runs a small successful business operating across neighboring St James and Hanover, supported initially by family, friends and community members. Speaking to reporters at the launch, Gray shared her excitement for the opportunity to scale her venture, noting that the seed funding will allow her to purchase additional inventory to better serve her growing customer base. Beyond her business ambitions, Gray plans to pursue a career in law, building her enterprise alongside her academic studies.
Other students are launching new ventures tailored to gaps they have observed in their own school communities. Orlando Hylton, an upper-sixth-form student at Green Island High, is launching a stationery business to address the absence of an on-campus bookstore for students. Open about the inherent risks of entrepreneurship, Hylton said the programme’s support gave him the confidence to move forward with his idea. Like many participants, Hylton balances his business goals with long-term professional plans: he aims to work as an airline pilot and operate a livestock farm in his spare time, and has already made plans to pass the stationery business on to a classmate if he chooses not to continue running it long-term.
Kamachia McBean, a 10th-grade student at Merlene Ottey High, already runs a thriving cookie business that draws strong support from her peers and generates solid profits. She has already mapped out how she will use her seed funding: expanding her product line to include doughnuts and assorted snacks to grow her customer base. McBean’s long-term career plans include nursing as her primary goal, with flight attendant and professional chef as alternate paths, but she emphasized that she intends to keep running her food business regardless of which career direction she chooses.
Beyond seed funding, the programme includes a robust structure of ongoing support and recognition for all participants. Every contestant will receive comprehensive training and mentorship in core business skills including general entrepreneurship, marketing strategy, and social media marketing. Business expos will be hosted at each participating high school, giving students a platform to showcase their products and services to peers, school staff and local community members. When the competition concludes in June, top-performing participants will receive additional grant funding to scale their ventures: first place will take home a trophy, certificate and JMD $90,000 business grant, second place earns a trophy, certificate and JMD $60,000 grant, and third place receives a trophy, certificate and JMD $30,000 grant. Special school-level awards will also be distributed, and every participant will receive a certificate of participation to acknowledge their work.
Tova Trench-Anderson, SDC Parish Manager for Hanover, emphasized the transformative long-term impact the programme aims to deliver. “We commend these schools for answering the call and taking the bold step to invest in their students’ entrepreneurial potential,” she said. “By the end of this programme, we expect our participants to demonstrate increased confidence, stronger leadership skills, improved financial discipline, and practical experience in running a business. More importantly, they will have laid a solid foundation for future entrepreneurial pursuits.”
Infiniti Co-operative Credit Union has contributed nearly JMD $1 million in total funding to the programme, in addition to providing expert mentorship for participants. Conroy Ward, Regional Sales Manager for Infiniti Co-operative Credit Union, outlined the practical guidance the credit union’s team will provide to young founders. “We are going to guide the students along the way, giving information on how to budget, how to save, how to create a cash flow and how to create a network,” Ward explained.
Local MP for Hanover Eastern Andrea Purkiss also announced at the launch that she would be adding extra funding to the programme’s prize pool, after being impressed by the quality and creativity of the students’ business ideas. “I am really delighted that the children are so creative in Hanover. I sat in that room and I listened to the business concepts, the names of the businesses that they came up with on their own,” Purkiss said. She also noted that in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, which recently impacted the region, building portable, income-generating skills for young people is more important than ever, giving students a reliable source of income they can depend on amid economic uncertainty.