ADOLESCENT mothers at Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) are now being granted the opportunity to become entrepreneurs through a partnership programme which will encourage financial stability for them and their babies.

The WCJF initiative, called Moms and More Entrepreneurship Circle, was developed through an agreement with Business Works Management Consultants and Global Entrepreneurship Network’s Startup Huddle programme, which operates in several countries.

On Friday, at a Business Works Pitchfest 2022, a 16-year-old exceeded her 17-year-old peer, after presenting her entrepreneurial idea, and received $80,000 in business budget support, a business incorporation certificate fee, and three-year business incubation support.

Executive director of WCJF Dr Zoe Simpson told the Jamaica Observer that the programme will help teen moms to take care of their babies and expand their horizons.

“This is something else that we have now introduced into the curriculum for the girls at all levels for them to recognise that they can empower themselves with entrepreneurial skills that will take them anywhere in the world,” she said during the event held at the WCJF Kingston office.

“They are mothers, their lives have changed. Their education is very important and they must go back to school to complete secondary education. In the meantime, while they are pursuing their education we are equipping them with entrepreneurial skills which will help them to earn while they learn,” she said.

She said the programme will be rolled out at the other WCJF facilities across the island.

Organiser of Startup Huddle Kingston, Andrea Livingston Prince, added: “Who says that we can’t have a vision like everybody else? What makes us unworthy of second chances? Academically, they say investing in one woman means you’re investing in a community, the impact is greater.”

Other partners for the programme are University of the Commonwealth Caribbean, Development Bank of Jamaica, and Bob Marley Foundation.

— Brittny Hutchinson