The meeting, which was jointly organized by IMC, the Federation of Indo-Israel Chambers of Commerce, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club of Bombay, also unveiled an IMC plan to lead a delegation to Israel and Jordan from November 23 and December 3, 2010, for not only discovering vast business opportunities, but also for visiting holy sites and historical places of religious interest to Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Introducing her, Mr Dilip Dandekar, IMC President, recalled that IMC and FICCI jointly led a business delegation to the Agritech fair in Israel in 2009. “On this occasion, IMC also signed MOUs with Israeli counterparts. In November this year, we are again sponsoring a big delegation to Israel, under the leadership of IMC’s immediate past President Mr Gul Kripalani”, he said and invited members of the public to join the delegation.

Ms Orna Sagiv said,”India and Israel were both working towards signing a Free Trade agreement soon. “Already, Israel has such agreements with US and other developed countries, in addition to Egypt and Turkey in the Middle East. Like India, Israel is a democracy; it has an ancient culture and highly resourceful people. But, unlike India, Israel has a small, arid landmass, inhabited by seven million people; it receives very little rainfall. And hence our people, perforce, are required to be highly inventive and resourceful for survival in this competitive world. Israel has more companies listed on NASDAQ than any other country outsider North America. It has the world’s largest number of start-ups, except for the US. It will be the first country to launch electric car network. It has the world’s largest number of scientists. It is the home of silicon miracle and leading to scientific breakthroughs such as cellular telephony and voice over IP (internet protocol).”

The Consul-General also cited her country’s pioneering contributions to humanity in the fields of biotechnology, agronomy, water management, solar and geothermal energies, waste-water recycling, environment etc. “All this happened because we have an enterprising, resourceful, high-quality human capital, numerous local as well as US-based venture capitals, and the democratic government that supports all R&D and innovative endeavours,” she said.

Mr Gul Kripalani said that the proposed delegation to Israel would not be confined only to members of the sponsor Chambers, but would also include other interested people. “The Maharashtra government is likely to depute some officials to visit Israel, if only to study its advanced agronomic practices .Our itinerary is flexible and tailor-made to suit different segments of the delegation members. The businessmen, who do not have much time to spare, will be offered the facility to conclude their business exploratory visit in the first three days, after visiting the business sites and holding one-on-one talks. For religious groups, the duration can be five or six days, and for the holiday-makers, it will be 12 days.”

I will start with the Doing business in Jamaica report from the The World Bank Group. If that’s a little to complicated to read and understand, the Jamaica Gleaner made a quite interesting summary of the report. “Dragging Jamaica down in the current survey is the 51.3 per cent of taxes businesses pay on average – that’s more than 51 cents of every dollar earned – to the treasury and designated state agencies with which they interface 72 times per year; heavy shipping costs of US$1,750 per export container and the US$1,420 charge per container of imports; the two months required to register property and transaction fees that double those of other groupings; and enforcement of contracts”

With a population of 2,677,170 and GNI per capita (US$): 3,710.00, Jamaica’s most important trading partner is US. The U.S. Commercial Services states in the doing business in Jamaica page: “The US remains Jamaica’s main trading partner, accounting for almost 40 percent of total trade. On average Jamaica imports 45 percent and exports 30 percent of its goods from and to the US. Jamaica’s other major trading partners are Trinidad and Tobago, the UK, Canada, Japan, China and Venezuela. ”

On the same page they say that: “Sectors which should have good prospects are Building Products, Safety/Security Equipment, Telecommunications Equipment, Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, tourism-related activities, non-traditional agriculture, agribusiness, and Information and Communications Technology.

The following sectors have attracted the most attention by foreign investors: Agribusiness, Chemicals and Minerals, Energy, Entertainment (Music and Film), Information and Communications Technology, Infrastructure, Mining, and Tourism.  ”

If you are interesting about more down to Earth tips on business in Jamaica, I found Jazz Johnson article a good reference. I’m quoting what I found most interesting:”The atmosphere in Corporate Jamaica is ultra conservative as compared to corporate America… Jamaicans within the corporate environment have a great work ethic and will get right down to business when it’s time to work. The relationship of man to woman within the corporate environment is strictly business and most companies prefer that employees address each other by their last names with of course the suitable acronym in front. E.g. Mr. James, Mrs. Barnett, Ms. Smith etc.”

As with everything else Jamaicans also have very strong political views. Do let the Jamaican take the lead when it comes to local politics. Ask informed questions but never get into a political argument with a business associate, it could be a deal breaker.

Goliath – Business Knowledge on demand, hosts an interesting study about several aspects of the business environment:

• Market Challenges
• Establishing an Office
• Franchising
• Direct Marketing
• Joint Ventures/Licensing
• Selling to the Government
• Electronic Commerce

and others bits and pieces of information.

Doingbusiness.org also has a 37 pages PDF that showcases the economies in the Caribbean States which could serve as term of comparison for better understanding.

On a lighter note, David Mullings says in a comment:

“Jamaica has produced things that are readily recognizable anywhere in the World:
- Bob Marley
- Reggae music
- The fastest sprinters
- Jerk seasoning”

And of course, to see how an US entrepreneur sees things in Jamaica, you get Mike Michalowicz’s article on the new breed of entrepreneurs in Jamaica

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

Mike has build a list of factors that could influence entrepreneurship in Jamaica in the near future. While his report is full of enthusiasm, I can’t stop thinking if the way he saw things isn’t that the way things go in Eastern Europe? A young generation of entrepreneurs that think the World if theirs and move mountains in a society that was asleep for so many years before?