JAMAICA’s entrepreneurial elite gathered to honour the best of the best at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. The prestigious event saw three outstanding winners take centre stage: Adrian Dunkley, CEO of StartApple AI, who secured the Start-Up Award; Kirk-Anthony Hamilton, founder of The Infiniti Partnership, who claimed the Emerging Award; and Peter McConnell, managing director of Trade Winds Citrus Limited, who received the Family Award. These exceptional individuals have showcased remarkable entrepreneurial drive, innovative thinking, and a dedication to excellence.

The evening’s festivities kicked off with the start-up category for which Adrian Dunkley, CEO of StarApple AI, was announced as the winner. Overcome with emotion, Dunkley was visibly moved yet managed to express his gratitude to his team and his grandmother, who was celebrating her birthday on the same day.

“Thanks team; I couldn’t have done it without you,” he humbly acknowledged as he accepted his award.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Adrian Dunkley revealed that the first person he called to share the news of his nomination was his grandmother, whom his company is named after. As Jamaica’s first data science and AI company, StarApple AI provides insights to help its clients succeed. Dunkley has also been honoured with the Data and AI Business Founder of the Year Award for the Caribbean by Global CEO.

“To be an entrepreneur is a blessing and a curse,” he said in his acceptance speech. “The blessing is that you get to create things from scratch out of thin air; the curse is that your job is never done — you’ll be doing it until the day you die.”

The second category winner announced was Kirk-Anthony Hamilton, founder of The Infiniti Partnership, an architectural designer-turned-entrepreneur who took home the Emerging Award.

“All we’re trying to do in the Caribbean is create a space where people can access resources to build their dreams and create new value for our region,” he said during his acceptance speech. “I’m very thankful to EY and the judges for recognising this as a business and for recognising this as something that creates value.”

Hamilton has built an investment holding and investment promotion company that connects ideas, people, innovations, resources, and capital to accelerate growth and success. With a focus on technology, innovation, finance, investment, health care, wellness, real estate, and hospitality, the company aims to build a global business ecosystem for the Caribbean. He shared with the Business Observer that he had long been an admirer of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year programme and was thrilled to see it finally come to Jamaica.

“You know, one thing I’ve learned over the years and recognised is that it doesn’t really matter the distance between people’s revenues, profits, et cetera. Your peers are not necessarily defined only by the scale of their business and so being among like-minded people is hugely valuable,” he said.

He emphasised that one of the significant gaps in the Caribbean is a support mechanism for entrepreneurs. However, the EY forum, held over three days, provided exactly that — a platform where business leaders from diverse backgrounds could learn from each other.

“A guy with a hundred-million-dollar business could learn from the guy with a million-dollar business, and vice versa,” he noted. “I’m just encouraging the fact that we need more of this,” Hamilton stressed. “There’s a need for us as stakeholders, for us as this community, to recognise that there is a need for more of this. Whether EY does it or somebody else gets up and does it, people need to pour in their support to make these events happen. This is how entrepreneurs ultimately really grow.”

The third category winner of the Family Business award, Peter McConnell, managing director of Trade Winds Citrus Limited, had indeed prepared for his win, asserting that one of the things an entrepreneur must do is prepare for the unexpected. He then proceeded to flip out his speech on paper, which he had prepared, but struggled to find his glasses, reaching out to his wife for help, causing the audience to burst into laughter before finally finding his spectacles to read his script. His speech began with thanking EY for the recognition, reiterating sentiments he shared in a previous interview that all the nominees are winners.

“I didn’t go looking for this recognition [but] I’m happy that it was recognised; I’m happy that I made it to the final,” he said in an interview with the Business Observer ahead of the awards.

When asked why he thought he was selected McConnell, who first pondered the question, finally gave out that he believed it was his honest and genuine expressions.

“I think, although I don’t do it intentionally, they felt the passion for my business because when I talk about it, I get very excited,” he said with a big smile.

Peter McConnell, a second-generation family business member, reset the clock by buying out his family’s shares 14 years ago, becoming the sole owner. Trade Winds Citrus, based in Bog Walk, St Catherine, is a well known and beloved company in Jamaica and the Diaspora, particularly for its flagship brand, Tru-Juice. McConnell’s father founded the company with his brothers and cousins after a citrus disaster in Florida opened up the market for more orange suppliers. Today, Trade Winds Citrus is the largest citrus farm in Jamaica, cultivating citrus groves on four different farms.

“I would like to pass on my appreciation to my team for believing in my vision and helping me carry out my mission,” McConnell concluded in his speech, encouraging the audience to applaud. “Without them, I wouldn’t be here.”