Growth & Jobs | JBDC launches ‘Biz Wiz’ online platform to boost entrepreneurship

The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), officially launched its online learning platform, designed to transform businesses through entrepreneurship education.

Dubbed ‘JBDC Biz Wiz’, the platform is designed to support entrepreneurs at every stage of their business journey.

It offers a suite of courses tailored to equip business owners with the knowledge and skills needed to compete in a rapidly evolving global marketplace shaped by innovation, technology, and emerging best practices.

As part of the wider project ‘Accelerating MSME (micro, small and medium-sized enterprise) Growth Through Innovation and Technology’, the digital platform is funded by the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, the Organization of American States (OAS), and the European Union (EU).

Delivering the keynote address during the launch at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Thursday, March 5, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator Aubyn Hill, described the JBDC platform as a “vital and necessary competitiveness instrument”.

“The platform is designed to deliver structured, on-demand, self-paced training in the areas that determine business growth. Training will be offered in formalisation, operations costing, marketing of products and services, budgeting and record keeping, business model development, business financial structure and analysis, and creating e-commerce arrangements to make businesses much more efficient and successful,” he outlined, adding “the end result is clear and sustainable digital transformation”.

COMPREHENSIVE ONLINE COURSES

Meanwhile, Acting JBDC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Harold Davis, remarked that “today is a proud moment for us”.

“This initiative represents an important milestone, not only in expanding access to entrepreneurial education but also in the ongoing digital transformation of the Jamaica Business Development Corporation,” he stated.

Davis noted that, “entrepreneurship isn’t simply about having a good idea… it requires knowledge, structure, systems and discipline for success”.

“In fact, one of the greatest contributors to early business failure is not a lack of talent or creativity, but a lack of entrepreneurial education, particularly in areas such as digital literacy, management and costing. Entrepreneurship also is not simply about starting a business… it is about building capable entrepreneurs who can create sustainable and scalable enterprises,” he further stated.

The Acting CEO emphasised that the platform’s launch serves an important purpose, providing flexible, accessible, and practical entrepreneurial education to support entrepreneurs at different stages of their journey.

The platform was launched with seven comprehensive online courses, some featuring up to six modules and a 30-day completion timeline.

These include three general business operations courses – Fundamentals of Business, Starting a Business, and Managing a Business – targeting entrepreneurs at various stages of development, from potential to early stage to advanced.

The additional four courses focus on digital technologies: How to Digitise Your Business, How to Digitalise Your Business, How to Digitally Transform Your Business, and Introduction to E Commerce.

“To encourage participation and utilisation of the platform, all seven courses will be available free to the public until the end of March, with the digital technologies courses remaining free, thereafter, to ensure that entrepreneurs across Jamaica can continue to strengthen their digital capabilities,” Davis shared.

He further noted that “a platform like Biz Wiz will allow us to meet youth entrepreneurs where they are, while they gain the structured knowledge required to build sustainable enterprises”.

The launch of the platform expands access to entrepreneurial knowledge, accelerates digital adoption among MSMEs, and supports the national agenda of improving productivity, strengthening innovation, and building globally competitive businesses.

“With the launch of Biz Wiz, we are helping Jamaican entrepreneurs access the tools and knowledge required to compete confidently in the global economy. To our entrepreneurs, we say: ‘This is your platform. Use it, learn on it, and grow your knowledge and your business’,” Davis encouraged.

The JBDC Biz Wiz platform is accessible at https://jbdcbizwiz.com/.