Rege Andrew, Gleaner WriterSEVERAL LEADING Jamaican business firms are latching on to the latest modern technology services provided by the Technology Innovation Centre (TIC), since its implementation of Business Incubators.
An incubator refers to the latest innovation in the tool-kit of business support services.
Subsequently, a business incubator provides the basic essentials needed to start-up businesses and these include; work space, shared office facilities, advisory services and skills development. Businesses are also involved in the synergy of sharing and networking, among tenants and with the local community.
The TIC is a specialised division of the University of Technology (UTech), and the facility is geared to assist start-up companies to become profitable and entrenched during the development stages, said TIC's Marketing and Public Relations Officer, Ivor Bennett.
He told Sunday Business that, "The success lies in the steady growth of these companies and the impact they have on nationalist development, in terms of the creation of jobs and developing a financial base within the Information Technology (IT) sector." Bennett said they also provide an avenue for entrepreneurs to realise their dreams.
The senior director at TIC, Valerie Tappin, said that this innovative technological concept would serve as a valuable tool in dealing with economic development in the region.
Business and management consultant Dr Henley Morgan, who has been attached to the Caribbean Applied Technology Centre (CATC) Limited for over 20 years, called on the TIC to broaden its scope and integrate the inner-city community in their business plans. Furthermore, he challenged the TIC to help put production, productivity and performance back into the national debate.
Dr. Morgan referred to three competitive concepts for establishing inner-city business, which included strategic locations, local market demand and human resources. He challenged the TIC to be visionaries for Jamaica and to chart their own course in terms of business incubation.
Aura Technologies is the most innovative entrepreneur in the technology field in Jamaica, and this is highlighted by their exciting brand of services, notably, the FireStream network. The FireStream services are used to distribute technologies for the delivery of video voice and data across digital networks.
