Mona Food Village Returns Friday

The Mona Food Village returns to the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus on Friday (September 25), with a renewed focus on providing student entrepreneurs with real-world market access.

The event will run from noon to 8:00 p.m. at Taylor Hall and entry is free.

Speaking with JIS News, Founding Director of the Mona Food Village, Jabari Robinson, said the second staging of the food village will feature more than 45 food vendors and over 10 business vendors.

It follows on the success of last year’s inaugural event, which attracted more than 1,500 patrons.

Mr. Robinson said that student entrepreneurship remains central to the initiative, with more than 10 student vendors expected to participate.

“Our motive is to provide students with real life market access and to provide the students of the university and the Mona area with a variety of food options through our different sponsors and food partners. People should come and support local student businesses and help them to contribute to the formal economy,” he told JIS News.

The event, which combines food, entertainment and entrepreneurship, will also provide opportunities for student-ambassadors to earn through vendor collaborations, further expanding the avenues for them to gain practical business experience.

Title sponsor, 7Krave, will host a Marketplace Booth, where students can sign up for a student profile to access free delivery and participate in the company’s marketplace affiliate programme.

Mr. Robinson said the initiative is intended to not only expose students to entrepreneurship but also to encourage patrons to support local student businesses and help them contribute to the formal economy.

Among the exhibitors is co-owner of Dunn’s Skin Care, Jo-Vanna Dunn, who is a recent graduate of the UWI.

“The Mona Food Village is important to us because it gives us an opportunity to interact directly with a live audience. A lot of what we do as a small business happens online, so being able to physically meet customers, allow them to see and try our products and hear their feedback first-hand is extremely valuable to us,” she told JIS News.