MANDEVILLE, Manchester Jamaica — At a recent gathering of local business leaders held at the newly redeveloped Garden Hotel, Jamaican billionaire and National Commercial Bank (NCB) Chairman Michael Lee-Chin praised local entrepreneur Garfield Virgin for his bold vision in turning the long-dormant former Mandeville Hotel into a vibrant new hospitality asset. The 4-acre prime property, located in the heart of south-central Jamaica’s Mandeville town, has been completely reimagined under Virgin’s leadership, drawing high praise from one of the country’s most prominent business figures.
Lee-Chin shared a personal connection to the property during his remarks Tuesday, revealing that his late mother Hyacinth Chen had first identified the site’s untapped potential back in 2018, just three months before her passing. Adjacent to Chen’s family-owned plaza, the tree-lined property captured her attention immediately, and Lee-Chin said seeing the completed transformation fulfilled a long-held personal hope for the space. “This place required someone with the clarity of vision to pull it away from its neglected past, the confidence to trust in their own idea, and the relentless energy to execute that plan quickly and decisively,” Lee-Chin told the assembled 14 local business leaders. “What Garfield has built here warms my heart. It’s a perfect example of what vision, grit, perseverance and local entrepreneurship can achieve. And at NCB, we stand ready to support every project like this across the country.”
As part of NCB’s deepened commitment to supporting local Jamaican businesses, Lee-Chin announced he would return to Mandeville annually for dedicated client engagement sessions, designed to help local entrepreneurs avoid common business pitfalls and learn from decades of industry experience. “I am a son of Mandeville, and this is my home,” he said. “Once a year, we will gather right here to share insights and strengthen our local business community.”
For his part, developer Garfield Virgin laid out ambitious expansion plans for the Garden Hotel, which already operates 31 rooms. By the end of 2024, he plans to add 50 additional guest rooms, with 30 set to open as early as December, followed by a new standalone utility facility at the rear of the property. Virgin added that Lee-Chin’s remarks and long track record of success have been a major source of motivation for his own work as a Jamaican entrepreneur. “Lee-Chin’s journey opened my eyes to what’s possible here. If he can build what he has from our country, there’s no limit to what I can achieve with this project. The life lessons he shared have already helped me restructure my business to reach its full potential,” Virgin explained.
The event also touched on one of the most pressing pain points for local small and medium businesses: delays and inefficiencies in business loan assessments. In response to audience questions, Lee-Chin outlined NCB’s plan to integrate artificial intelligence into its lending underwriting process to scale up accurate, timely risk assessment — a core function of banking that has long struggled with scalability when done manually. “Traditional risk assessment couldn’t scale because it required hours of manual work for every single applicant. AI is going to change that entirely. It will let us scale precision risk assessment across thousands of applications using algorithmic analysis, so we can evaluate every borrower accurately, price risk correctly, and speed up access to capital,” Lee-Chin said. He emphasized that this technological upgrade would be built and led locally, noting: “We are a Jamaican bank. We don’t need to go to Canada or Trinidad or ask for outside permission to innovate. We can build this solution right here, for Jamaican businesses.”
Local business leaders have already reacted positively to the announcement. Clive Wint, managing director of local firm C&D Construction and Engineering Ltd, said NCB’s commitment to improving lending access and supporting local enterprises has reinforced his confidence in partnering with the bank. “The commitment NCB has made to put more capital into local Jamaican businesses, and to make that capital easier to access, means we will be expanding our work with the bank,” Wint said. “Mr. Lee-Chin’s insights have encouraged me to pursue bolder growth opportunities and take calculated risks to expand my business, something I wouldn’t have felt as confident doing before this meeting.”