MoBay Trade Expo to focus on growing local businesses

With the economic life of the western region dependent on the services industry, organisers of the Montego Bay Trade Expo have selected a stellar line-up of presenters to address areas of potential growth for local businesses.

"Montego Bay and the western region support two of the largest members of the services sector in tourism and the information and communication technology/business-process outsourcing," Gloria Henry, chairman of the organising committee, told The Gleaner yesterday.

The expo is slated for the Montego Bay Convention Centre from October 11 to 13.

Scheduled to be staged under the theme 'Services, Globalisation Enabling Development', the expo will see presentations from Dr Eric Deans, chairman of the logistics and investment task force; and Dr Fritz Pinnock, executive director of the Caribbean Maritime Institute, who will speak on Jamaica's logistics hub project.

"Primarily, we want to learn more about the logistics hub and we want to know, from very early, how it will affect businesses in this part of Jamaica," Henry said.

She added: "We believe that we are a part of the logistics framework when that becomes a reality, and we wanted to provide an opportunity for our members to have a greater understanding."

If realised, the logistics hub will be the fourth of its kind globally behind Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and The Netherlands, but Jamaica is touting, as a comparative advantage, its location in relative proximity to the Panama Canal and midway between North America and South America as selling points.