THREE Jamaicans were among 21 entrepreneurs to make the final cut of the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative.

Initiated by US President Barack Obama, the YLAI is a fellowship where young business leaders across the region and throughout Latin America were mentored by companies in their industries of interest throughout the US. After mentorship, there is a pitch competition for the fellows in each state, and the winners would go head-to-head in the finals in Washington DC. 

Of the eight Jamaicans who formed part of the cohort of 250 fellows this year, three emerged as winners: Patria Kay Aarons, Renee Stewart and Kadeem Pet-Grave.

teenAGE caught up with Pet-Grave, whose EducaTours won him the state final in Miami.

Pet-Grave, whose business provides innovative field trips to schools, said that it was his passion and the relevance of his business that made him a winner. 

“I went up with a passion. The judges were saying they liked how I delivered and the connection between me and the audience. Also, the need was evident because field trips are basically dead in the US,” he told teenAGE.

Among the many benefits they garnered, Pet-Grave noted that they now have learnt significantly more about their various industries and took advantage of networking opportunities.

“I think we got validation. As well as we got access to a lot of resources,” he said.

Though the finals were held in Washington DC recently and none of the Jamaicans made it to the top three, the fellowship isn’t over. The winners are tasked to complete action plans for their businesses and will be working together on a project on the island. He also said that he is now deciding when he will return to Miami to take up a partnership offer, as all the fellows should be working on partnerships at this time. 

Based on his experience in the YLAI programme, Pet-Grave encourages young entrepreneurs to be agile, or quick, understand diversity and differences and most importantly, tell their story or be true to themselves.

To learn more from all eight Jamaican fellows, teenAGErs can attend their Digital Housing event on Wednesday at Eden Gardens in Kingston between 10am and 4pm, by registering free at https://www.digitalhousing.info.