Janet Silvera, Hospitality Jamaica Coordinator

Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer - Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller launches Jamaica Trade & Invest (JAMPRO) Business Brand Jamaica campaign, under the theme 'Today's Jamaica Means Business', held at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston, on Wednesday, February 7.

Designed to expand the profile of Jamaica from a cultural icon and leisure destination to one where business plays a driving role, the Jamaica Trade & Invest (JAMPRO) launched Business Brand Jamaica two weeks ago at the Jamaica Pegasus in Kingston.

"What this Business Brand Jamaica campaign will do is highlight another side of Jamaica, namely the business side that is energised by our creative power," keynote speaker, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, told business stakeholders at the unveiling of the innovative venture.

Commanding world attention as a premier investment destination, while boasting the success of its advanced telecommunications infrastructure, the Prime Minister argued that the message the island is decoding is its readiness for business, "Today's Jamaica means business," she emphasised.

Urging Jamaicans at all levels from the smallest to largest, to harness this potential, Prime Minister Simpson Miller said it was time to leverage the island's assets and competitive advantages.

Outlining the country's achievements and commendations as a business friendly environment, the Prime Minister highlighted the country's current ranking by the United Nations Council on Trade and Development (UNCTD) at 21st for being an inward investment location and ranked 10th by the World Bank and International Finance Report in 2006 in terms of starting a business.

one e-readiness

"Jamaica is also number one in the Caribbean for e-readiness for the inclusion of technology in government services," she stated emphatically, underscoring at the same time that this was the other side of Brand Jamaica that must be showcased to the world.

Shortly after declaring Business Brand Jamaica officially launched, JAMPRO revealed the campaign's mark, which very soon will reside on all of its collateral. "And which, through collaboration with the Jamaica Exporters' Association (JEA), the Jamaica Manufacturers Association (JMA) and the Bureau of Standards, and other interested partners, we hope to eventually see on all certified exports verifying the products as authentically Jamaican," said JAMPRO's Chairman Peter Bunting.

He asserted that then the Brand Jamaica mark would help prevent others from legitimately copying Jamaican products on the international market.