by Howard Campbell
MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica – CEO of Blue Mahoe Capital, David Mullings, ranks the recent Jamaica Diaspora Conference in Montego Bay “among the best that I’ve attended.” He said delegates to the June 16-19 event were engaged and seemed committed to investing in their homeland.
This happened, he said, “Mainly because it didn’t come across as a talk shop. I felt that we were more heard than before on the issues we cared about.”
On the conference’s second day, the Orlando-based businessman made a bold pitch to attendees, announcing the first Diaspora-focused Bond offer. This initiative, which has a start-up in August, promises a fixed return of eight percent a year for five years. It is aimed at Jamaicans in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Prime minister Andrew Holness and foreign affairs minister Kamina Johnson-Smith, led the Jamaican government officials addressing the four-day conference which attracted over 1,100 delegates, mainly from the US, Canada and UK. Crime, the main worry for Jamaicans living abroad, investment possibilities and remittances, were key items on the agenda.
“As a businessperson, I had meetings set up on the sideline of the conference, struck three deals and secured additional investors. It also allowed me to share why we felt now was the right time to invest in Jamaica as an overseas Jamaican,” said Mullings, who was attending his fourth diaspora conference.
South Florida Contingency In Attendance
There was a large South Florida presence at the Jamaica Diaspora Conference. The contingent included Oliver Mair, Jamaica’s Consul General to Miami, former Broward County mayor, Dale Holness, Dr. Allan Cunningham, former chairman of the Jamaica Diaspora Southern Region, Rose-Marie Lewis, member of the Jamaica Diaspora Southern Region, and Eddy Edwards, head of Riddims Marketing, promoters of the Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival.
Mullings, who was the first Future Leaders representative for the United States on the Jamaica Diaspora Advisory Board, said, “There is always room for improvement,” noting that, “The luncheons had information sessions but the hall was a little noisy so it was hard to hear and we could also have used more info on the screens during plenary sessions such as everyone on the stage and the topic, because if you came in late you had to refer to the program instead of just looking up.”
