PM Welcomes US$7M Investment in the Midst of a Pandemic

Entrepreneurs must be encouraged to do well and grow their businesses, is the word from Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, as he called for increased support for local businesses to become successful and contribute to the continued growth of the country’s economy.

“There is nothing wrong with doing well in business; there’s nothing wrong in making a profit. We must not despise entrepreneurs; we must build them; we must appreciate them; we must encourage them. We want more entrepreneurs… because Jamaica will only grow when our businesses grow,” he said.

Mr. Holness was speaking at the official opening of Itel’s new U$7million state-of-the-art business process outsourcing (BPO) facility, during a ceremony at its location at Chalmers Avenue in Kingston on Wednesday (May 25).

He implored Jamaicans to “stop seeing the private sector as being an exploiter”, stressing that Jamaica cannot grow without its business class growing.

“Until we realise that it is the growth of the private sector that is going to drive the growth of the country and give the revenues that we can deal with all the social issues that we have, then we… will never overcome [them],” he said.

The Prime Minister made the point as he welcomed this latest investment, particularly during a pandemic, noting that this demonstrates that “there is a message that is getting through to our business class, to our private sector that… now is the time to invest”.

He said the Government is doing what is necessary to make the risk in doing business “calculable, manageable, predictable, so you can feel safe in converting your wealth from dollars into… real assets and it is happening right across Jamaica, and other people from other countries are seeing it and are deciding “I’m going to take a risk with my capital in Jamaica”.

In his remarks, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator, the Hon. Aubyn Hill, praised Itel on the “tremendous strides” the entity has made since it established its first facility in Montego Bay in 2012.

“Over the past decade, Jamaica has become a recognised and attractive location for outsourcing services. Business investors and competitors from around the world recognise Jamaica as an ambitious and high-quality player in the outsourcing space and ever increasing capabilities that we’re building and growing. Itel is helping to burnish that wonderful image,” he said.

He said that with the construction of this new best-in-class BPO campus, Itel will be contributing an estimated additional US$60 million to the local economy per annum and employing more than 1,500 persons.

Founding Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Itel, Yoni Epstein, thanked clients, partners and the Government for the continued support over the 10 years since the company started operations with 500 employees.

“[After] 10 years in business… we are very proud to be the largest BPO to ever be born out of Jamaica… . We are operating in nine different countries today, four of those are [in] the 15 CARICOM nations and we have our sights on a fifth that we will mention soon and a couple others thereafter,” he said.

“With over 6,000 team members today, we are profoundly proud that we have built and continue to build across the region a truly international-Caribbean-Jamaican-born company competing against the world’s biggest and best outsourcing firms, and we continue to win,” he added.

The 9,000 square ft. facility is the entity’s second contact centre location in Kingston. It features a cafeteria, gym and relaxation space for employees’ comfort; training rooms, as well as special services offices to meet their administrative needs.

President of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Diane Edwards; and Vice President, BPO and Logistics (Montego Bay Free Zone), Port Authority of Jamaica, Gloria Henry, in their remarks also endorsed the new investment.

Itel (formerly known as itelbpo) is an international customer-experience partner with operations across the Caribbean, Latin America, US, and Canada.