Granting Success: DBJ Enabling Adtelligent to Shine

In 2018, local digital marketing and technology firm, Adtelligent, open its doors with investment of US$10,000.

With the modest outlay, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder, Craig Powe, tells JIS News that the entity was able to purchase some essential pieces of equipment, such as computers and cameras, and hire a small, dedicated staff, as the company embarked on its mission to revolutionise the marketing industry in Jamaica and globally, by providing creative, cost-effective and analytical solutions.

Among its services are photo and video production, design and animation, social media management, web design and development, marketing strategy and data analytics.

Mr. Powe knew that he would require more capital to transform his business into a digital powerhouse, and recognising the hurdles small businesses encounter in accessing loans, he seized the opportunity when the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) announced a competitive grant for startups.

“Six years ago, I was part of one of the first Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) IGNITE (Innovation Grant from New Ideas to Entrepreneurship) Programme, and I got a grant of $4 million,” he tells JIS News, noting that the funding was transformative.

“It allowed us to buy some of our first serious [high tech] pieces of equipment like cameras, microphones and other things to upgrade our level of doing business,” he says.

“We were able to raise our quality of services without increasing our prices too much. It allowed us to get new business and compete in spaces that we wouldn’t have been able to,” the CEO further points out.

As the company grew, so did its relationship with the DBJ.

The partnership not only provided Adtelligent with funding, but also opened the door for the entity to contribute to initiatives like the DBJ’s ‘Let’s Go Digital’ programme.

“Today the DBJ is a client of ours; [we’ve] become a supplier for some of the DBJ programmes. So we build websites for people at a discounted rate, and the DBJ will pay us for those,” he explains.

In September 2024, the company received another grant of $20 million from the DBJ which, Mr. Powe says, will be used to build out a new studio and introduce significant new technology.

“This latest funding will help establish Jamaica’s first volumetric studio, a cutting-edge facility commonly used by major players like Amazon and Netflix,” he tells JIS News.

“The project is actually $50 million… $20 million of that will come from the grant the DBJ is giving us for this investment, which we wouldn’t have been able to do by ourselves,” Mr. Powe notes.

The new volumetric studio project is expected to generate close to $100 million in revenue annually, once completed.

Overall, Mr. Powe estimates that Adtelligent has received nearly $40 million in total support from the DBJ through grants and sponsorships.

The financial backing has also enabled Mr. Powe to recruit quality staff and pay them more attractive salaries.

“When we applied for the first DBJ grant… the average salary for a member of staff here was around $80,000. Right now, we have about 15 people on staff and everybody here earns over $150,000 minimum,” he informs.

The impact of this growth is evident, not only in employee salaries, but also in Adtelligent’s ambitious plans for future expansion.

Mr. Powe points out that Government support has been crucial for his company’s success, and encourages more small businesses to capitalise on the loans or grants provided by the DBJ.

“The Government has these agencies that are actually trying to grow the country. It’s up to you, as an individual, to go out and find out if these programmes can help you,” he says.