Growth & Jobs | DBJ supporting the creative industry

“One of the highlights of the Kingston Creative Artwalk Festival on Sunday, September 28, in downtown Kingston is the launch of the FAME (Film, Animation, Music & Entertainment) Incubator Demo Day, Jamaica's first all-woman creative entrepreneur incubator,” says part of the lead paragraph of a Gleaner article, published on Friday, September 26, under the headline, 'Demo Day to shine spotlight on Jamaica's female creatives'.

The day came, and it seemed to have been a smashing success. The space allotted to the entrepreneurs was a hive of activities, busy and festive. The ‘queen bees’ came prepared, saying in no uncertain manner that they are serious about their ventures. The cameras too were buzzing, not to mention entrepreneur Alisha Thorpe, founder/CEO of My Model University, and her models, on and off the catwalk.

Also sighted were Erica Louise ‘Rica G’ Richards and Jody-Ann ‘Drummy Jo’ Brown of Well Ample Productions; Kacy Garvey, co-founder of JAIKU Limited; MC for the day, Arianna Lawrence, founder of Ari Connects;and Lois ‘DJ Lava’ Morgan and Tandra ‘DJ Lytes’ Jhagroo, co-founders of HEADBopHERZ Ent; among others.

The September 26 story also says, “The FAME Incubator, a transformative 12-week programme, is backed by the Development Bank of Jamaica’s (DBJ) Boosting Innovation, Growth and Entrepreneurship Ecosystems (BIGEE) grant. It was designed to help female creatives gain access to capital and connect with new markets in some of the fastest-growing subsectors of the creative industries.”

Christopher Brown, programme manager of the BIGEE project, too, was present to see for himself what was unfolding, for the organisation that he works for is very serious about supporting the creative industry which is a driver of growth and job creation. The BIGEE programme “is about setting up an infrastructure for innovation and entrepreneurship to thrive in Jamaica”, Brown told The Gleaner.

While other things were going on he was primarily there to see Demo Day. “To see who is here and to understand what they have learnt versus when they just came in. You are teaching people things they need to leave with something and put it into practice afterwords. It is not just about coming to a class and sitting down. You have to use the knowledge,” he said.

He also mentioned the opportunities for growth and development in that these entrepreneurs can eventually create employment for others as their businesses expand. He cited the example of two DJs who have combined to set up a business which offers a wide range of services. He was talking about Lois ‘DJ Lava’ Morgan and Tandra ‘DJ Lytes’ Jhagroo, co-founders of HEAD BopHERZ, which offers music planning and curation, live mixing, MC, high-quality sound and lighting, technical support, equipment rental, event coordination, and other services.

And, about why the DBJ is involved in promoting and sponsoring the creative industry in Jamaica, which does not get much cooperate support Brown said, “It touches a wide cross-section of activities, and as Jamaicans we are quite familiar with the value of our creative prowess and products. We need to figure out the right way to get that on a platform or the landscape that can have more buyers and users.”

The Gleaner then seized the moment to find out the extent to which the DBJ is involved with the FAME project. “The FAME programme is an incubator programme. It provides training, access to markets, mentorship, and the space available for the creatives to go to. The execution of that programme is what we have sponsored,” Brown said. But outside of the FAME programme, how possible is it to get help from the DBJ?

Anyone can go into the bank anytime to enquire about getting help, but the bank operates within clusters of which Kingston Creative is one such cluster, a partner with the DBJ. Kingston Creative is the liaison. So, should a creative need help he or she must approach Kingston Creative, which is in a better position than the bank itself to determine who needs a loan and the extent of the loan. It is about making sure that the loan is redeemable.

The loan is disbursed through partners, banks, credit unions, and micro-financing institutions. Micro-financing institutions’ loans can range from $300,000, using DBJ’s resources. Some banks lend up to 20, 30, 50, 100 million dollars. Two to five million is “probably the ideal” amount for creatives, through DBJ partners, according to Brown.

Kingston Creative is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to using art, culture, and creativity to drive social and economic transformation in Jamaica. Through public art projects, creative entrepreneurship programmes, and community development initiatives, Kingston Creative is shaping downtown Kingston into a vibrant cultural hub.