CREATIVE training institute, iCreate Limited, is seeking to raise capital of roughly $70 million through the sale of 74 million shares in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Junior Market.

The offer, which opens 9:00 am on Thursday, January 31, has made available 30.3 million shares to the general public and 20,000,000 shares to key partners at $1.01 each. Another 24,062,500 shares are reserved at $0.81 each.

Applicants looking for part ownership in the company must request a minimum of 1000 ordinary shares before the offer closes at 4:00 pm on Thursday, February 14.

According to the company, the proceeds raised from the IPO will be used to acquire additional equipment, computers and software to deliver courses. iCreate also wants to expand its physical infrastructure to include additional computer labs, training rooms and workshop space in Kingston and Montego Bay.

Additionally, the school is looking to implement new training courses such as certified professional diplomas, bachelor’s degrees and offer corporate training and also has its eyes on regional and international expansion.

“The company believes that the funds raised from this invitation, if successful, will enable it to strengthen its balance sheet thus further enabling it to take advantage of opportunities that may arise from time to time,” Chairperson, Sandra Glasgow said in the prospectus published on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

A subsidiary of eMedia Interactive, iCreate was founded by Tyrone Wilson. The institution works in partnership with the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean to deliver degrees and certification courses to prospective students under the fields of film, advertising, animation, graphic design, mobile games and fashion design.

In its prospectus, the institution said it has trained more than 370 people in eight courses in the creative industry since the institute was incorporated in January 2018, and has managed to generate interest in excess of 3,000 prospects based on applications uploaded to its online portal.

“With increased marketing and exposure from the IPO and our marketing activities, the number of prospects is expected to double in 2019,” the institution said.

As for its plans for the regional and international markets, the institution said it has purchased a licence from the Digital Marketing Institute in the UK to offer professional and specialist diplomas in the area of digital marketing and social media.

Additional licences were reportedly purchased by iCreate from the Digital Marketing Institute to offer digital marketing programmes in the United States, with Florida as its initial market. iCreate has already registered the company to start operations in Miami, Florida.

For the quarter ended March 2018, iCreate recorded revenues of $11.69 million with digital courses accounting for approximately 42 per cent of revenues, and certificates 40 per cent. Corporate training accounted for approximately 18 per cent of total revenues.