Jamaica’s startup ecosystem is still in a growing stage, but it shows obvious dynamism and development symptoms. Since the Start-Up Jamaica accelerator was launched the summer 2014, it has financed several projects and endeavors that have allowed encouraging an important activity, which is having interesting effects in the country’s economy. Jamaica is considered one of the best countries with which make business and undoubtedly, it offers the most solid startup ecosystem in the Caribbean. It’s also the third most populated English-speaking country in the American continent (after United States and Canada).
Start-Up Jamaica is helping Young technologic entrepreneurs to develop products and innovative services for local and international markets. The accelerator is a public-private association between Jamaica’s Government and Jamaica’s Development Bank, with the support of the World Bank, Youth Employment in Digital and Animation Industries. The Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Ministry launched the program in 2014, and it organized its first training field in September the same year. The Caribbean Startups initiative is important as well, it is the home of the Caribbean startupecosystem. Currently, only 12% of the region has incubators and accelerators to support local companies. This organization’s goal is to reach 100% for 2020, facilitating continuous programming and relations between entrepreneurs and programs coordinators.
At PanamericanWorld we have chosen ten startups that represent the Jamaican ecosystem, characterized by the diversity of economy environs they cover and its enormous development capacity.
MEDIREVU
MediRevu’s cellphone health app allows users to keep up to date with their diet, exercises and medication programs by sharing their health plans with their doctors and family, which works as encouragement. The app speeds up the entire patient’s administration process, from appointments programming to records administration and work flows.
DAILY MEETING
Daily Meeting is a productivity administration tool, which is characterized by its simple use. It mainly helps the team members and the managers to stay up to date with the updates and progress of the project in which they are immersed. It facilitates, therefore, the teamwork and the project’s real-time following. The solution is free for a 30-day demo version and it offers four levels of prices, from basic to business.
CONNECTIMASS
ConnectiMass is the Caribbean’s main online information and media services supplier, which works with technological startups and digital entrepreneurs. The company produces the popular regional communitarian initiative Startup Caribe. Its responsibilities boast about having developed an easy-to-use interface, which facilitates an efficient web-searching experience.
JAMGORA
JamGora is an online market that connects Jamaican local merchants with clients of the area, offering e-products, domestic machines, office supplies and a wide range of other products. The company has an international projection and is working to export products from Jamaica’s artisanal industries to the rest of the Caribbean and North American countries.
KRAASIMAGES
Kraasimages is a platform that helps to find original photographs, illustrations and audios related to the Caribbean. It offers a complete assets library administrated by rights and free form privileges. Kraasimages was founded by Staysean Daley and Christopher Birch and operates from Kingston.
THEVINELIST
The VineList is a social shopping app that takes buyers directly to Kingston’s relevant markets and stores in the fashion and technology sector. Its interface is very simple, it allows to search the web in a very intuitive way. You must only post the products you’d like to buy and the web immediately offers you the market that sales them. The company is part of Startup Jamaica Accelerator, led by the government.
EDUFOCAL
Edufocal is an innovative reward-based social learning platform that combines studying with playing. The solution was initially focused on the students who took the Caribbean CXC and GSAT exams, but it has also expanded to SAT examined people.
SAMELOGIC
Samelogic offers an easy way for users who participate on a product’s reputation survey, to send their comments and share their feedback from their mobile devices. People who share their experiences through cellphone videos have been one of the main reasons why Instagram and Snapchat have experienced such a significant growth in the last few years. Once the people responsible for Samelogic saw that this now is a key way to communicate, they have wanted to move these same communication dynamics to online surveys. Last October, during Seedstars Kingston, Samelogic won Jamaica’s Seedstars World round, and it will represent the country in the Seedstars Summit in Switzerland to compete for the award of 1 million dollars on investments and prizes.
ALTURA TECH CARIBBEAN
Commercial Grade Dash Cam, with 24 hours life video feeding, is mostly a small video camera that is connected to a truck or vehicle’s windshield and continuously records while the vehicle is in motion. This allows to follow in real time the driving accidents and to offer, therefore, more driving security and better control of the driver’s work and routine.
EDOCINE
eDocine is an app that improves the traditional experience on health care and it uses advanced technology to facilitate patients the access to medical services. Its creators’ main goal is to enhance the current medical attention experience, where the long waiting times, the high prices and the patient’s inefficient data recording and communication use to be the rule in Jamaica. Designed with a solid technology, eDocien offers more accessibility and efficient management in a safe environment.
