The Jamaica Promotions Corporation (Jampro) is reporting that 16,540 new jobs were created in the 2018-2019 fiscal year within the fields of energy and information technology-enabled services (outsourcing), film, animation and music.

Senator Don Wehby chairman of Jampro made the comments while announcing Jampro’s achievements for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, where the agency also recorded $646.5 million in capital expenditure for Jampro-facilitated projects and US$ 837.5 million in export sales.

He said 93 per cent of the agency’s clients are happy with its services.

He further added that of the 132 clients that were surveyed, the vast majority were impressed with Jampro’s services and the quality of the team. This group included investors, overseas buyers, and exporters who have used the Jampro’s services in the past financial year.

These services include investment facilitation, business-business matchmaking and business facilitation and market penetration support.

Jampro’s performance, according to Wehby, is a reflection of the agency’s three-year strategic plan, which included a more results-oriented approach and renewed focus on Jamaica’s economic development goals, including increasing local investment in large projects.

“By sticking to our original growth strategy and continued innovation by the Jampro team, the agency has achieved over 100 per cent of the investment and jobs targets, and a 157 per cent achievement of the export sales target, which is crucial to developing our manufacturing sector. These achievements confirm that we have made the right strategic decisions and we are heading in right path,” Wehby was quoted in a release.

The strategy placed the spotlight on the use of flagship initiatives to boost exports and investments, the consolidation of marketing efforts to increase lead generation, and renewed focus on project implementation, which is critical to finalising investment projects and attracting investors.

In addition to this, of the $646.5 million in investment dollars facilitated by Jampro, US$226.9 million came from local investment projects including LASCO Manufacturing, Jewels Palmyra Resort, Kingston Wharves, Stanley Motta, GraceKennedy Foods and other companies. For investments, logistics, tourism, energy and information technology-enabled services had the most dollars spent in the economy, while manufacturing recorded the largest number of exports facilitated by the agency in the last financial year.

According to Wehby, this represented at least 35 per cent of investment projects facilitated by the agency, providing strong evidence that Jamaican and other investors are excited about doing business in Jamaica, which is a positive sign for the country’s overall economic growth.

Wehby also calls on local investors to continue to contact Jampro to realise investment projects, as the agency continues to implement new initiatives to further boost its performance.

“We are heading into a period of exciting initiatives such as roll-out of the National Business Portal and the National Investment Policy, and the Global Services Sector (GSS) project. These projects which will provide the environment needed to attract investors, and will complement Jampro’s promotion of Jamaica’s innovation in our various sectors and export products. I am pleased about the agency’s performance, and I welcome local investors to bring their projects to Jampro, so we can continue to facilitate their contribution to economic development,” he said.

The Jamaica Promotions Corporation’s mission is to drive economic development through growth in investment and export. Jampro is an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries.