Businesses Encouraged to Create Applications

Local businesses are being encouraged to emulate the innovativeness of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), by creating applications designed to improve business services and operations to customers.

The call comes from Science, Energy and Technology Minister, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, who was speaking at the JSE’s mobile application launch at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston, on July 5.

The application intends to make life easier for those seeking to do business with the Stock Exchange.

“A greater number of businesses must recognise the importance of building their online presence and virtual exchanges with their clients and potential customers,” said Dr. Wheatley.

“There is growing opportunities for more businesses to pursue app creation and development,” he added.

The Minister said a Technology Innovation Fund, which is to be launched in short order, is among his administration’s plans to enable Jamaica to tap into the application creation and development market.

The Fund will facilitate the provision of capital investment to start-up businesses to ensure their success.

“This is something we’re taking very seriously as an administration.  We’re looking to become innovators of technology and not mere consumers,” he said.

Meanwhile, General Manager of the JSE, Marlene Street Forrest, said the mobile application, which took a year to develop, will ensure persons have up-to-date information at their fingertips.

“It will also grow the market. Currently, we have about five per cent of persons investing in the Stock Market and we want to grow that to 15 per cent by 2020,” she said.

The new application is available to Android and Apple mobile users in their respective online stores free.

It features the latest market and company news, market statistics, live ticker during trading hours, summary during non-trading hours, latest trading day indices and instruments and index and price graphs over 30, 90 and 365 days.