ST JAMES, Jamaica (JIS) — Vice President of Sales and Promotions at Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Claude Duncan, says the country is poised to attract more businesses and investments as a result of significant strides being made to ensure a business-friendly environment for investors.

In this regard, Duncan said JAMPRO continues to improve the market readiness of projects locally, to prepare project owners for international investments.

He was speaking during at business forum hosted by JAMPRO at the Pelican Grill, Montego Bay, St James, yesterday.

Duncan is encouraging investors in western Jamaica to seek to invest in untapped areas of business and to add other characteristics to brand Jamaica, as the country is largely promoted as a tourist destination and known for the talent of its people.

He said that JAMPRO has been aggressive in promoting Jamaica as a business destination to showcase to foreign investors that there is more to the island than tourism.

“As we [JAMPRO] travel and present all over the world, it is [like] a eureka moment, because when you talk about [the fact that] we have an outsourcing industry, they are like wow Jamaica?, we only know of tourism, we only know you for (Usain) Bolt. That is not a bad thing, don’t get me wrong, what it means however, is that we have to add other characteristics to the brand,” Duncan said.

In the meanwhile, he is encouraging investors and business owners to make an effort to ensure they pay keen attention to the packaging of their products, to ensure they are market and investment ready.

“One of the things we don’t do and try not to do is if we don’t believe a project is decently packaged or good enough, we are not going to put it in front of our investors, because we have a reputation to protect,” Duncan emphasised.

The forum presentations focused on investor expectations, becoming investment ready, project financing and the approval process for land development.