Seiveright Challenges UWI Students to Build Businesses and Future-Proof the Caribbean

The Hon. Delano Seiveright, MP Minister of State in Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce

KINGSTON, Jamaica, September 23, 2026 — Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC), the Honourable Delano Seiveright, is challenging Jamaica’s university students to move beyond preparing themselves solely to enter the workforce and instead position themselves to build businesses, create jobs and own a greater share of the region’s economic future.

Delivering the keynote address at the opening ceremony of The University of the West Indies (The UWI) International Undergraduate Student Leadership Conference and Entrepreneurship Expo today, Minister Seiveright said the pace of economic and technological change demands a generation of entrepreneurs who can adapt quickly, identify opportunities and execute ideas.

Speaking under the theme “The Role of Entrepreneurship: Future-Proofing the Region,” he told students, “The future is not waiting on us. It is already here,” while urging them to see themselves not only as participants in the emerging economy, but as potential founders, employers and business leaders.

“Some of you must become employers. The next generation of Jamaican jobs will come partly from companies that do not exist today. Someone sitting in a university classroom right now could build a company employing five people, then 50, then 500. Why not you?” he asked.

Minister Seiveright identified artificial intelligence (AI), digital commerce and changing consumer behaviour as forces already reshaping how businesses operate, and the skills employers require. He urged students to understand and use AI, stressing that adaptability is now a necessary part of remaining relevant in a changing economy.

He also challenged the perception that starting small means remaining small, pointing to Jamaican businesses including Rock Solid Plastics, Sanmerna Paper Products and Sandals as examples of enterprises that grew beyond their beginnings.

Rock Solid Plastics, he said, began in 2020 with approximately five employees and production of about 10 water tanks per day and now employs around 40 people, with capacity to produce approximately 140 to 150 tanks daily. Sanmerna Paper Products, established by brothers Robert and Mark White in 2003, has grown to more than 105 employees and distribution across all 14 parishes. Sandals, which began in 1981 with one hotel in Montego Bay, has expanded into a Caribbean hospitality brand operating across multiple islands. “Small is where you start. It does not have to be where you finish,” the Minister said, challenging students to shift from asking whether a small business can survive to asking, “How big can I build this thing?”

He pointed to opportunities in agribusiness, manufacturing, global digital services, logistics, tourism, film and the creative industries, and urged students to pay closer attention to Jamaica’s import needs as a way of identifying opportunities for local production.

In agriculture, he highlighted opportunities in agri-tech, greenhouse production, irrigation, cold storage, food processing, packaging and warehousing. He also identified higher-value digital services such as software development, cybersecurity, accounting, legal-process outsourcing, fintech, data analytics and AI-enabled services as areas where Jamaican entrepreneurs can compete internationally.

Minister Seiveright further encouraged young entrepreneurs to take greater ownership of intellectual property, brands, platforms and distribution within Jamaica’s creative economy. He stressed, however, that having an idea is not enough. Entrepreneurs must be investment-ready, with proper accounts, ownership information, financial projections, market information and investment proposals in place if they are to engage potential investors and strategic partners. “Networking may open the door. Preparation keeps you in the room,” he said.

While acknowledging the role of Government in creating an environment that supports business development, MSMEs, investment, exports and competitiveness, Minister Seiveright said Government support cannot replace the initiative required from entrepreneurs themselves. He pointed to the work of MIIC, JAMPRO and JBDC in supporting businesses and encouraged students to make use of available information on programmes, incentives, export opportunities and investment sectors.

“Government cannot supply your ambition. It cannot manufacture your discipline. It cannot build your relationships for you. And it cannot execute your idea. That part belongs to you,” he told the students.

Closing his address, Minister Seiveright urged the students not to allow their background, financial circumstances, community, surname or other perceived limitations to determine the size of their ambitions.

“Be realistic about obstacles. But be relentless about overcoming them,” he said, adding that the future of the Caribbean will depend not simply on predicting what the world will look like, but on people willing to build businesses, create jobs, embrace technology, form partnerships, take calculated risks and act now.

“I hope many of those men and women are sitting right here,” he told the students.