‘Think global, but be careful,’ Jamaican entrepreneurs advised

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Having a global mindset is crucial in Jamaican businesses growing and achieving success, but any decision to expand internationally must be weighed carefully.

That was the advice given to young entrepreneurs at the Ernst & Young (EY) Caribbean Strategic Growth Forum by Murad Al-Katib, president and chief executive officer of global agribusiness AGT Food and Ingredients.

Al-Katib made the point on Thursday while discussing his entrepreneurial journey which has seen Canada-based AGT Food and Ingredients grow to more than CAD$2 billion in revenue with operations across five continents, in less than two decades.

Founded on the principle: ‘From Producer to the World’, AGT Foods is a global leader in value-added processing of pulses and staple foods, and a leading supplier of ingredients derived from pulses to premium food markets and food companies around the globe, according to the company’s website.

“I will say to all the entrepreneurs here: ‘The world is open to you and I want you to be thinking. You’re sitting here in Jamaica, or [elsewhere] in the Caribbean; you have to think about regional markets, think about where you are, and try to expand,’ ” Al-Katib said at the four-day forum at Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall which culminated with the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Jamaica awards gala on Saturday night.

At the same time Al-Katib, EY World Entrepreneur of the Year 2017, urged local entrepreneurs to “be careful” when expanding globally, stressing that it is important businesses are vigilant when choosing international partners.

“It’s a digital world today [but] it’s not okay just to be sitting in your office with a WhatsApp and a Teams meeting and think you can trust somebody who is sitting halfway around the world, or even four countries away from you,” Al-Katib said.

“There is no replacement for face-to-face; get to know who you are dealing with,” he continued. “I want you to be careful because what I have seen are entrepreneurs who are looking for expansion, and they go too fast and get burned in a very big way.”

Reflecting on the journey of AGT Foods, he said that risk management was foundational to the company’s operations.

“We always controlled the bill of lading, which is ultimately the title to the goods in that container… Until we were paid we would not give it up; we would control it from our bank to their bank — and that was the way in which we could do that,” Al-Katib said.

In the meantime Byron Dixon, CEO and founder of UK-based antibacterial technology company Micro-Fresh, one of the judges of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Jamaica awards, said he was pleased about the international aspirations of the local nominees.

“What surprised me is the amount of businesses that wanted to be international and that are international. When I talk about international from Jamaica, I don’t just mean the Caribbean. There were businesses that talked openly [not only] about the US but also Europe and Asia, and that was a real surprise for me and I was really proud that these businesses want to take Jamaican products and services across the world,” Dixon, who is of Jamaican parentage and is the UK’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2020, said during a panel discussion.

The EY Entrepreneur of the Year Jamaica awards recognises entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence in innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

A total of 11 businesses were nominated across three categories for the awards — start-ups, emerging businesses, and family businesses.

Trade Winds Citrus, Lillan Limited, Scotch Boyz Jamaica, Bluedot, Esirom, The Infiniti Partnership, Star Apple AI, Tropicks 365, Profit Jumpstarter, Mosa Estate, and Honey Bun Limited were the companies represented.