Jamaica Venture Capital Programme

Jamaica Venture Capital Programme has been established by the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), a public sector financial institution, with technical assistance and financial support from the Inter-American Development Bank's, Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF). The DBJ has had a history of supporting venture capital financing since the 1990's, with the advent of the Jamaica Venture Fund, in which the DBJ's predecessor institution, the National Development Bank, was among the initial investors. In spite of these earlier forays into venture capital, there has been no sustained development of the industry, due to a number of factors, among these being the absence of an environment conducive to long term private capital development. The projects to be undertaken under the JVCP represent a new approach by the DBJ, to create sustainable development of the VC industry, by focusing on the establishment of an ecosystem conducive to venture capital development, through partnerships with private sector interests in the development of projects which impact entrepreneurs, fund managers and investors. A key aspect of the ecosystem development is the establishment of an appropriate legal and regulatory framework for venture capital and private equity in Jamaica.