JMMB Group has signed a year-long agreement with the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship Caribbean aimed at providing select JMMB Group business clients with training resources and other virtual learning opportunities through the Branson Centre.

Through the agreement, JMMB Group will facilitate select small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) clients, deemed to be in the growth and expansion phase of their businesses, to participate in workshops offered by the Branson Centre, at a discounted price.

The agreement will also see JMMB Group being listed as one of Branson Centre’s preferred partners.

JMMB Group will identify up to 150 clients, over the coming months, which the company believes could benefit from learning opportunities offered by the Branson Centre, via its online learning platform, and extend a special invitation to participate in these programmes, at a discounted price,” senior corporate manager of JMMB’s SME resource centre Shani Duncan-Falconer said.

The online training platform is the first online business training platform in the Caribbean and is currently only available through partnership agreements. The partnership between JMMB and Branson Centre, which was signed last month, will enable entrepreneurs to access training on a broad cross-section of areas that can potentially benefit their businesses and capacity building, including pitch coaching; business plan development; and vision development.

Additionally, training, mentorship and investment readiness are umbrella activities provided by the Branson Centre, which will help to bolster the success of the entrepreneurs.

CEO of Branson Centre Lisandra Rickards lauded the partnership between the two organisations as another step toward creating dynamic Caribbean economies.

“As a scale-up business accelerator, the decision to utilise Branson Centre’s virtual resources, to bolster the development of SMEs, was a no-brainer. Our online training platform has already served thousands of entrepreneurs across the region and this alliance will only further that impact for JMMB Group’s select SME clients,” she said.

Investing in SMEs

The partnership will also assist the JMMB Group in identifying investment opportunities for entrepreneurs from the Branson Centre’s Accelerator Programme, which caters to entrepreneurs who are considered to have high-potential and scalable business models.

According to Duncan-Falconer, JMMB Group will participate in the Branson Centre’s deal room, along with other investors, to get a first-hand understanding of the companies’ business models, and to determine if there are any businesses that JMMB Group could partner with, and explore investment opportunities – whether through debt or equity.

In providing investment opportunities, through this agreement, JMMB Group is seeking to be a trailblazer in bridging the gap between financial institutions and entrepreneurship and helping to generate growth and development in the region.

The agreement is in keeping with JMMB Group’s strategic thrust towards building out its focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in line with its financial inclusion and integrated financial partnership approach. As part of its strategy, the JMMB Group intends to add value to its SME clients, through the provision of the financial partnership, resources and innovative financial solutions.