Logistics Hub

As Jamaicans seek additional options to earn an income, thousands have registered on the freelancing site, The Hive.  The Hive is the Caribbean’s first freelancer jobs marketplace where freelancers, entrepreneurs and agencies are paired with employers globally. The platform was launched last year by Ingenuity Technologies in partnership with the Flow Foundation and has already grown beyond expectations creating a community of over 10,000 across the Caribbean, India and the United States of America. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative impact on work and business, the Hive enables the progress of local professionals and micro, small and medium-sized (MSME) enterprises through digital inclusion through its partnership with the Flow Foundation. “In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many persons lost their full-time jobs, MSMEs have seen a reduction in work opportunities and freelancers are seeking new job opportunities as traditional sources may have dried up. We’re excited to help through our partnership with The Hive,” stated Stephen Price, Chairman of the Flow Foundation. He continued, “We’re pleased that the website’s technology-driven approach has created faster and easier ways for local freelancers, MSMEs and out-of-work professionals to get short-term jobs and bolster their income.” The move was applauded by local freelancers who are endorsing The Hive for providing a space for them to advertise their services, choose projects when approached by businesses or opt to apply to support advertised projects. Currently, some of the best and brightest freelancers from across the world are on the platform. “The Hive Freelancing has been excellent for finding and bidding on projects, whatever the field or role so that I can increase my earning potential. It’s user-friendly and facilitates a space for me to maintain communication with the “employer” for the duration of the project. Using the website, I have already found two projects and I am working on my third,” shared Gairey Powell, Managing Director, Landscaper.com. The Hive is the brainchild of Melarka Williams, CEO & Founder of Ingenuity Technologies – a global, digital transformation and software engineering firm, with its regional headquarters in Kingston, that provides MSMEs with technology solutions and tools needed for them to increase their operational efficiency and productivity. Williams shared that his motivation stemmed from wanting to provide a platform where people could use their existing skillsets – for example, Technology, Engineering, Administration to name a few – as a source of alternative income so that they could better provide for themselves and their families.  Additionally, he wanted to contribute to the further diversification of the economy into other low-growth sectors which could assist in accelerating the growth of the Caribbean economy. “The Hive will become the most effective path to digital skills development within the Caribbean and an ecosystem for organisations, agencies, academic institutions and businesses to partner with us as we jointly work to bridge the skills divide within Jamaica and the wider Caribbean,” said Williams. This is certainly true for Orlando Brown who heard about The Hive on Twitter and thought it would be a good source of extra income especially in the pandemic.  He shared that he has gained significant expertise in general construction through the website stating, “The Hive has helped me to generate another stream of income.  I’m currently using the site to get construction, electrical and mechanical jobs and, on a smaller scale, project management jobs.”  Brown also advised that he found The Hive’s registration process simple and straightforward. Additionally, the site is providing opportunities globally.  Some of the largest and most innovative companies in the Caribbean and North America are utilizing the platform to hire for short-term and permanent opportunities. The site’s highest demand is for tech experts ranging from IT Business Analysts to Technology Project Leads. To support users in making the best business match, the website incorporates user-led performance ratings and statistics on freelancers, agents and employers to provide a track record of work. The Flow Foundation continues to enable progress through its digital inclusion programme which includes The Hive; an Entrepreneurship Programme, focused on supporting Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs); Training for Professionals Programme in partnership with One on One Educational Services Ltd and its Skills for the Future Programme in partnership with the Mona School of Business Management.  The organisation has also led a Tablet Distribution Partnership Initiative which has which has impacted some 300 students island-wide. Registration on https://www.thehivefreelancing.co/ is free for freelancers and agencies. Source: https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/The_Hive_and_Flow_Foundation_provide_alternative_income_stream_option_for_thousands?profile=1056

As some businesses reel from the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic, others are reporting steady growth. Managing director of Aklamar Courier Marlon Fletcher gave his account of how his business has performed since the start of the pandemic. “Business has been great for me, I would not say that it has doubled, but it has surely maintained what I use to do pre-pandemic.” About 99 per cent of Aklamar’s business has to do with dealing with offices and performing tasks like picking up cheques and going to the bank or tax office. In fact, most of the company’s customers are on a retainer, so they pay a flat rate. But, as the managing director explains, the pandemic has created demand in other areas which have been financially rewarding. “I see the increase coming from individual deliveries,” said Fletcher. He said it’s been a steady 40 per cent increase, primarily due to demand in the food delivery business. Before the pandemic Aklamar was described, primarily, as a documentation courier company, but all that is beginning to change. “What I’m seeing, from my side, is that a lot of people are now staying home, so you find that the demand for personal courier service has increased significantly. We’re doing a lot of home visits now and we used to do probably two home visits per day pre-pandemic, during the pandemic we have been doing 10 to 20 home pickups and deliveries per day.” Aklamar Courier is not the only entity experiencing good fortune in the middle of the pandemic. Just last month Knutsford Express Services announced the introduction of business class service and the addition of international package delivery. The new business lines were added since the start of the new financial year. CEO of Knutsford Express, Oliver Townsend, said since the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic the company has pivoted to expand courier services. He explained that package volumes climbed nearly 200 per cent since March 2021, contributing significantly to earnings. Similarly, Mailpac Group, which provides international and domestic courier services for people ordering goods from various businesses, including Amazon and PriceSmart, has experienced a surge in growth. This, as more consumers choose e-commerce to source products for their everyday needs. Despite seeing its cost of sales jump by 35 per cent in the first quarter, Mailpac spent $22 million in capital expenditure and leased new properties to allow the company to sufficiently manage the increased business activity. In the same vein, Fletcher highlighted that the Aklamar team expanded by about 10 to 15 per cent of its delivery personnel, “I’ve also added an additional dispatcher to field the calls and messages that are coming in on a daily basis.” But there’s even more growth on the horizon. Fletcher explained that Aklamar is in the final stages of negotiating a new contract with about three companies which will make out of town courier services more lucrative for his business. Currently, he only operates in the Kingston, Portmore, and Spanish Town area. “Other courier companies, namely Tara and Knutsford Express, have dominated the out of town market by way of literally transporting people. So they just put courier service into the bottom of the bus and they are able to charge a significantly reduced rate for a delivery from let’s say Kingston to Montego Bay. We did not venture into out of town deliveries on a one-on-one basis because the demand was just not there and I would be operating at a loss to go to Montego Bay, for example, with two or three deliveries,” he explained. Although business is doing well, Fletcher admitted that there are a few challenges. “From time to time we get a little resistance because I guess the officer on the ground may not be familiar with the gazetted order that is published every time the prime minister would have announced new measures. It’s part and parcel of the stigma that surrounds bikers overall. But all my staff have their IDs, letters, and the bikes are company bikes, which are branded, fully licensed, and insured.” In the meantime, the courier service provider said he has ventured into contactless deliveries to facilitate people who are afflicted with COVID-19. He says it’s the latest pivot which has already started to pay dividends. Source: https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-observer-corporate-listing/courier-businesses-thriving_230673?profile=1056

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The team Jamaica camp is upbeat after the island’s Country Pavilion was named one of the ‘coolest’ at World Expo 2020, Dubai. The ITP Media Group’s subsidiary, Time Out Dubai, recently published an article featuring the “coolest country pavilions” setting up for the global event, which gets underway in October. Jamaica was among just 13 standouts recognised of the nearly 200 individual country participants. “I am very thrilled that Jamaica has been represented in this article,” Commissioner General of Section, Jamaica Pavilion at World Expo 2020 Dubai, Essie Gardner said. “We have been trying to make sure that even though Jamaica is a small island state, our voice is heard loud and clear across the world. So, the fact that Time Out Dubai has selected Jamaica as one of the coolest kids on the block is really refreshing to us. The fact that they have seen us, seen our bold colours, seen our personality coming out through the pavilion is really good for us,” she noted. The Time Out Dubai article said that Jamaica has “struck gold” with its “spontaneous street party-style pavilion,” which features shipping containers from across the world organised into zones focused on the country’s sports, food, music, cultural heritage, investment attractiveness and tourism. “The concept is that Jamaica has fun doing whatever it is we are doing. When you see the pavilion there are bold pictures of people on the outside and scenes of Jamaica and when you get on the inside it is like a block party and we actually have a music studio. I think that what captured the attention of Timeout Dubai is when they realised that they could listen to Jamaican music, create their own playlist and have a vibe of our home,” shared Gardner. The Jamaica pavilion is a gift from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and was designed and constructed by a UAE-based entity to the specifications of the Jamaican team. For his part, Senior Director of Regulations, Policy, Monitoring and Enforcement at the Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority (JSEZA), Ainsley Brown, also welcomed the recognition. “It is the uniqueness of the pavilion, which is reflective of our culture and our drive to transform our economy into a logistics hub. They mentioned the containers and the art and culture, so that unique combination has come together in a seamless way, in a ‘sustain-a-livity way’. It combines the economic, social, environmental and governance aspects to delivering positive results for people, planet and profit,” he said. A team from JSEZA forms part of the multi-agency Jamaican delegation to Dubai. Others include the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Jamaica Tourist Board and Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO). World Expos are global gatherings of nations dedicated to finding solutions to pressing challenges around the core values of education, innovation, and cooperation. World Expo 2020 Dubai will be held October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, under the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’. The event was initially scheduled for 2020 but was postponed for a year due to the global pandemic. — JIS Source: https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Jamaica_among_coolest_pavilions_at_World_Expo_2020_Dubai?profile=1228

E-commerce and logistics company Mailpac says it will be pumping funds into the buildout of an additional five stores before the close of 2021. The company is also in discussions with select gas station and pharmacy operators to host its pickup lockers island-wide. Mailpac’s announcement to add new stores and partner for the expansion of its locker distribution network comes amid plans to acquire an e-commerce company that would give Mailpac a footprint in the wider Caribbean region. Over the past 10 years, Mailpac has leveraged its in-store branch network which currently stands at 13 to serve its customer base. Recently, it added the first pick-up locker at the Old Hope Road store as a test for greater customer convenience. “Like Amazon in the United States, we expect our lockers to become an integral delivery mechanism for our company. We are finalising agreements with a number of strategically located retailers that will host our lockers. This means that our customers will soon be able to pay online and simply collect their packages from one of our lockers located at a gas station or pharmacy on their way home,” Executive Chairman of Mailpac, Khary Robinson said in a release from the company. The lockers allow customers to pay their shipping costs online and instantly receive a unique ‘pickup’ QR code. When the code is scanned at the locker, it automatically opens a cubicle that stores all the customer’s packages available for collection. Robinson said that having a distributed base of stores or collection points has always been a fundamental part of Mailpac’s strategy, but that the meaningful growth in online shopping over the past few months, has fast-tracked the company’s need to significantly expand its network to be closer to customers. “Our mission has always been to better connect Jamaican consumers to global products. To do that efficiently, we truly need to be in the communities of the families and companies that we serve,” he said. Mailpac became a publicly listed company in December of 2019 with 11 locations spanning Kingston, Portmore, Spanish Town, Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, Savanna-la-mar, Mandeville and May Pen, and recently the addition of Harbour View and Whitter Village stores. The company is targeting 18 locations by the end of the year. In addition to in-store and locker pick-up for internationally shipped and domestic packages, Mailpac also offers home delivery services. “It’s no surprise that Jamaicans are increasingly realising the value of shopping online. Our in-store customer service teams offer localised support to customers who seek personalised attention as a part of their online shopping experience. For those that want a more effortless experience, we offer home delivery solutions and now our contactless pickup lockers” Samantha Ray, COO of Mailpac Group said. Source: https://jamaica.loopnews.com/content/mailpac-partnering-gas-stations-pharmacies-pick-lockers

Caribbean Airlines Cargo and the Jamaica Manufacturers & Exporters Association (JMEA) have recently entered into a partnership, to support and boost local exports. Caribbean Airlines Cargo facilitates the movement of general, perishable and other types of cargo throughout the Caribbean and cities around the globe; and JMEA is the leading industry association in Jamaica that represents and supports exporters, manufacturers, service providers, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME’s) through advocacy, strategic partnerships, export services, research, capacity building and access to finance. As part of the agreement, JMEA members will benefit from special Caribbean Airlines Cargo discounts. The airline accepts payment in Jamaican Dollars, provides cargo insurance services and offers a cargo loyalty programme. Commenting on the partnership, Caribbean Airline’s Head of Corporate Communications, Dionne Ligoure stated: “Caribbean Airlines Cargo is committed to promoting the growth and development of trade in the region. This partnership is a tangible demonstration of this intent. Throughout the pandemic, our cargo operations continued and we adjusted our air freight capacity to meet increasing demand.  As global trade re-opens and normalizes, Caribbean Airlines will maintain and adjust its model to facilitate the movement of goods to and from Jamaica and throughout the region.” The exploration of air freight routes currently underserved by the regional cargo industry will be one of the key areas of focus under the partnership; as access to new global markets will open opportunities for exporters and importers in Jamaica to economic benefits. For her part, Executive Director, Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association  Simara Howel said the JMEA is cognizant of the role exports play as a tool for economic growth, especially in light of the COVID- 19 pandemic. Shipping and Logistics solutions are a critical supportive component in ensuring that local manufacturers and exporters are able to penetrate new markets in a timely and efficient manner, she noted. “The JMEA remains committed to forming and strengthening strategic partnerships like this Caribbean Airlines agreement that will bring valuable solutions to our nation’s MSMEs whilst reducing barriers to trade.” Caribbean Airlines Cargo provides connectivity to the Caribbean, North America and several destinations worldwide, using its extensive interline network. Through its team of experts including air cargo professionals with decades of industry experience, the airline efficiently transports general, temperature-controlled, over-sized cargo and other shipments globally. Source: https://jamaica.loopnews.com/content/jmea-partners-caribbean-airlines-cargo-boost-local-exports

Through a partnership with Megacap S.A. Limited, Caribbean Airlines will facilitate cargo shipments from several cities in China to the Caribbean via Megacap’s six hubs including Beijing City Office, Beijing Airport Office, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Dalian. The following is a press release from Caribbean Airlines: Caribbean Airlines Cargo has appointed Megacap S.A. Limited as its General Sales and Service Agent (GSSA) for China. Megacap S.A. Limited is a leading aviation services company in China with a proven track record in cargo services, for airline partners across the globe. The GSSA agreement will take effect from August 30. Through this partnership, Caribbean Airlines will facilitate cargo shipments from several cities in China to the Caribbean via Megacap’s six hubs including Beijing City Office, Beijing Airport Office, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Dalian. Marklan Moseley, Caribbean Airlines General Manager Cargo and New Business commenting on the partnership stated, “The appointment of Megacap comes at an opportune time, giving freight forwarders and shippers in China access to the Caribbean, with real-time, customized logistic solutions.” Allan Tam, CEO of Megacap S.A. Limited, “Megacap is proud to be the GSA of Caribbean Airlines. Caribbean Airlines provides many niche destinations which can fulfill the current market vacuum in China; and our team is very excited about this cooperation.” Caribbean Airlines operates an all-cargo schedule of 14 weekly Boeing 767 flights. This service facilitates shipments between the carrier’s Miami hub and Trinidad, Kingston, Montego Bay, Guyana and Barbados. The airline also transports cargo in the belly hold of its Boeing 737 and ATR aircraft on select passenger routes between Trinidad and New York, Toronto, Barbados, St. Vincent, Grenada and St Lucia. Customers also benefit from the option to make payments in their local currency in most jurisdictions.   Source: http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/caribbean-airlines-expands-cargo-network-in-china-6.2.1378476.8e4be6e014

The Government of Jamaica has embarked on implementing a Global Logistics Hub Initiative and the Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority (JSEZA) is positioning Jamaica to capture a greater market share and increase its long-term competitiveness, through its P3+ Industries Framework. This is possible as Jamaica is in a prime geographic location to become a global logistics hub, creating easier linkages between other global hubs and western markets. The P3+ Framework was established to identify the prohibited, permitted and priority industries for special economic zones with a focus on allocating resources to the priority industries to attract their development and expansion in special economic zones (SEZs) in Jamaica. “The P3 is an important tool that identifies the key sectors that will stimulate the development of special economic zones in Jamaica, which will further advance our logistics hub competitiveness,” Research Economist in the Regulations, Policy, Monitoring and Enforcement Unit at JSEZA, Carlton Thomas, tells JIS News. The priority industries are automotive; pharmaceutical, biotechnology and beauty care; creative industries and new digital media; global services sector; logistics and supply chain management; food manufacturing and agrotechnology electronics; and digital/information and communications technologies. All other industries not captured on the list of excluded activities mentioned in the Special Economic Zone Act, 2016 are considered permitted industries. The P3+ Framework is the end product of three main phases of activities. The first phase involved a comparative look at four major studies, which included the Jamaica National Export Strategy and the Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan. From there, industry commonalities were pulled and analysed through the Harvard Atlas of Economic Complexity. The atlas is a data visualisation tool that uses multiple inputs to track and project the growth of economies around the world. It also rates countries on the complexity of their economies. “The advantage of this particular site is that you can then see where there are certain complementarities. They make recommendations as to what Jamaica should focus on and they even rank it from ‘low-hanging fruit’ to higher-level activities. It links its recommendations to other related elements with the notion that if you attract one industry, it sets you on the path to attract other industries. That also helped us to finetune the priority list,” says JSEZA’s Senior Director of Regulations, Policy, Monitoring and Enforcement, Ainsley Brown. The team at JSEZA is now in the third phase of the P3+ Framework, in which they have determined the ‘minimum viable product’ for each industry. It involves laying the groundwork for Jamaica to attract investors and operators in the priority industries list to operate out of and enter partnerships with Jamaican SEZs. “Phase three is where we move away from the industries and drill down. We do a value chain analysis and then we look at what products and services can be produced in Jamaica and how best to approach it,” Mr. Brown continues. In the automotive industry, for example, JSEZA is working towards taking the country from regional car-distribution activities to being an auto-parts hub. Similarly, in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and beauty care industry, the aim is to take Jamaica from just a biodiversity source to biotech and beauty care cluster that would entail the production of hair products, branching off into medicaments and, ultimately, engaging in activities like 3-D tissue modelling. However, before these can be achieved, the JSEZA Senior Director explains that a foundation must first be laid. “A lot of groundwork has taken place, particularly with our labs around the country and getting them up to a certain standard. The fact that there are these standards will now permit us to move into medicament manufacturing whereas before we would not have been looking attractive to investors because we didn’t have that standards level in place; but now, we have that groundwork being done. Bureau of Standards and the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC) and others have been doing some wonderful work that sometimes doesn’t get recognised but is necessary,” shares Mr. Brown. Another organisation that has been working on the expansion of the priority industries, is the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO). JAMPRO has targeted the growth of the global services sector locally by upskilling Jamaica’s workforce and has now aided in cementing partnerships in the pharmaceutical industry. Recently, JAMPRO announced a pharmaceutical partnership between Pure Jamaican and Sweden-based Klaria Pharma. The partnership will see research and development being done in Jamaica and Klaria Pharma launching a new pharmaceutical delivery system for the substance psilocybin. “Being able to attract new intellectual property to our shores, and to begin building a reputation as a global leader, manufacturer, and exporter of a new pharmaceutical delivery system for medicinal cannabis and psilocybin are exciting economic development opportunities for our country,” states JAMPRO President, Diane Edwards. Echoing her sentiments is JSEZA’s Research Economist, Carlton Thomas, who says anticipating the needs of investors then being willing to move to attract them is the new paradigm of investments. “Part of the work that the JSEZA is doing is the creation of what we call structural transformation maps, which look at, among other things, education and skills development, technology, infrastructure, spillover/linkages effects, export growth potential, etc., of the priority industries. We then critically answer the following questions: What is the impact of attracting this industry on Jamaica’s economy. What is it that Jamaica already has that would be attractive to players in these industries. And what does Jamaica need to do to further improve its attractiveness to the players in these industries,” Mr. Thomas says. JSEZA has also been developing business/data intelligence that will be made available to prospective investors to help them decide on Jamaica. They have also been forging linkages within SEZs and the domestic market to aid in attracting investors. If the established approach of a “likkle step, big step then leap frog” continues to be utilised for the identified and targeted activities in the priority industries, Mr. Brown, has no doubt that Jamaica will experience structural transformation. “That is the aim of the zone

OLIVER Townsend, CEO of Knutsford Express Services Limited (KEX), is indicating that new business lines added since the start of the new financial year are likely to continue to aid revenue recovery. KEX, he told the Jamaica Observer, is leveraging the benefits of its “wide network” to keep growing the company’s customer base. The company, since the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic locally in March 2020, has pivoted to expand courier services. Earlier this year in May, although declining to share precise data, Townsend said package volumes climbed nearly 200 per cent since March 2021, contributing significantly to earnings. He added that courier services have been further expanded to “international courier services from all our branches islandwide to the USA, Canada and the rest of the world”. At the same time, he said, passenger travel has been rising slowly after falling to zero in May 2020, reaching just 20 per cent of normal levels in May 2021. Meanwhile, the transport operator also indicated that passenger service has rebounding steadily from the COVID-19 restrictions. “We have also started a business class service, with two departures daily stopping at Sangster — Drax Hall Hub — New Kingston.” The business class service offers “guaranteed space for each person, light snacks, more personal attention, check-in, early boarding, and more”, Townsend told the Business Observer. The fare for the business class is 50 per cent higher than regular adult fares. “Early feedback has been encouraging,” Townsend stated. The company in 2020 received new medium-size coaches which the CEO said “are aptly equipped to launch the service”. Townsend also outlined that a three-month delay in developing commercial space in phase two of its development at Drax Hall in St Ann is due to restrictions because of COVID-19. With ten subscribers already secured, opening is now expected in November. The previous plan was to open in July 2021. Knutsford Express Services Limited moved its headquarters from Kingston, St Andrew, to Drax Hall last year when Government restrictions and health protocols impacted passenger transport. Knutsford spent an estimated $200 million on land acquisition and construction of the new commercial centre and Knutsford Super Terminal. The company has also opened a courier-only office at Palms Plaza in Portmore, St Catherine. It is not clear at the moment if it will open a transport hub in Portmore in the near future. Knutsford Express Services, which offers courier, passenger and charter services, posted revenues of $991.39 million at year end May 31, 2021, down from $1.12 billion at year end May 2020. Net income for the year was $78.9 million, down from $224.77 million at year end in 2020. In notes attached to its audited results the company said Jamaica has not been spared the effects of the pandemic, with the group taking several measures to protect customers and employees in coaches and offices against COVID-19. Source: https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-observer/knutsford-express-introduces-business-class-service-adds-international-package-delivery_229006?profile=1056