PRIME Minister Dr Andrew Holness last week pitched Jamaica’s post-Melissa investment and growth agenda to a high-level group of international investors, capital allocators, entrepreneurs and business leaders in Miami, outlining plans to turn the reconstruction period into a springboard for faster infrastructure development, new industries and stronger long-term economic growth.

The dialogue, convened by Visionaries’ Summit, created new connections between Jamaica and members of the international investment and business community with the capacity to deploy significant capital across infrastructure, technology, energy, real estate, and emerging industries.

“The [by-]invitation-only gathering was built around a deliberate objective: expand the network of people, capital and relationships engaging with Jamaica by introducing the country’s leadership to accomplished investors and business builders who are not necessarily part of the traditional ecosystem surrounding the island,” the organisers said in a news release.

Participants travelled from several countries to engage directly with Holness. The investment and capital-allocation capacity in the room was estimated in the hundreds of billions of US dollars.

According to the organisers, the evening was designed for candid exchange, rather than a conventional investment conference or formal presentation.

Holness participated in a fireside conversation with Kirk-Anthony Hamilton, founder of Visionaries’ Summit and Tech Beach, as well as CEO of The Infiniti Partnership, before opening the discussion to questions directly from participants.

“The conversation ranged from Jamaica’s investment competitiveness and post-hurricane reconstruction, to venture capital, artificial intelligence, the future of energy and the infrastructure required to participate in a rapidly changing global economy,” the organisers said.

A central theme was the opportunity to use the post-Melissa reconstruction not only to restore damaged infrastructure, but to accelerate investments Jamaica needs to improve productivity, resilience and competitiveness and to support a new generation of economic activity.

Responding to Hamilton on how Jamaica should position itself amid accelerating technological change, Holness argued that technological adoption and appropriate regulation must advance together.

“There is no turning back from artificial intelligence. The question for Jamaica is not whether we participate in these technologies, but how we participate and how we regulate them responsibly,” the release quotes Holness.

“The same applies to energy. If we want to attract the industries of the future, we must be open to the new energy solutions that can power them competitively. Jamaica enters that future with important advantages: We are an open economy, a stable democracy, we have no foreign exchange or capital controls, public safety is rapidly improving, our people are talented and our geographic position is strategic. We have built stability; now we have to convert that stability into growth,” Holness told the summit.

He positioned the discussion within a broader transition in Jamaica’s economic strategy: From establishing macroeconomic stability to using that stability as the platform for significantly higher levels of investment, productivity, and economic growth.

The discussion also addressed the relative absence of venture capital across Jamaica and the wider Caribbean as well as the importance of creating an environment in which innovative companies can access the risk capital required to grow internationally.

Holness emphasised that attracting global capital must also create opportunities for Jamaican entrepreneurs and businesses, enabling innovative local companies to access the financing, networks and markets required to scale internationally, the summit organisers said.

“Energy emerged as another important component of the conversation. With artificial intelligence, data infrastructure and advanced industries creating unprecedented demand for reliable power globally, participants discussed the opportunity for Jamaica to consider new energy solutions capable of both reducing costs and supporting the industries the country hopes to attract,” the release added.

Participants represented perspectives spanning investment management, private wealth, finance, real estate and development, infrastructure, technology, entrepreneurship and international business.

The gathering deliberately prioritised investors, capital allocators and business builders capable of developing long-term commercial relationships with Jamaica rather than assembling a traditional conference audience.

“We weren’t trying to create another large conference. We wanted to create the right room,” the release quotes Hamilton. “There is enormous capital and capability in the world that has very little relationship with Jamaica or the wider Caribbean. Our role is to build those bridges.”

He said the summit gave people who can deploy capital and build businesses an opportunity to sit directly with the prime minister, ask difficult questions, understand where Jamaica is going and begin relationships that did not exist before.

The evening also allowed investors to engage directly on the practical considerations that influence where global capital moves — from political and macroeconomic stability to public safety, energy costs, regulatory frameworks, infrastructure and the speed with which investment can move from commitment to execution.