University College of the Caribbean (UCC) Nabs Major Investor Partner For Knowledge Park Development Project

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The University College of the Caribbean (UCC) located in Jamaica is aggressively advancing its strategic plans to become the first private university in the Caribbean to go public.  This move, it is believed, would address the huge gap between market demand for tertiary education and the enrollment capacity of current institutions in Jamaica and the region.

The UCC has earmarked four major projects for Phase I of its strategic plan which are in the following two sectors: business process outsourcing and training and education exports.

With an investment value of USD6.5M, UCC is seeking to launch the Caribbean Knowledge City, a knowledge park in Lucea, Hanover.  The UCC consummated a partnership deal with Indies Pharma, owned by Dr. Guna Muppuri.  The park will be located in the former Jockey factories, owned by Dr. Muppuri, who will lead the development along with his team.  UCC will provide the systems, programs, intellectual capital and management of international partnerships and academic program delivery.  An additional investment capital in the amount of US$2M is being sought which will be limited to working capital support.

“This is a great investment for Pharma given the performance of the knowledge services sector in Jamaica”, said Dr. Muppuri.  “UCC’s entrepreneurial vision, sound business plan and assets make for an ideal partner”, Muppuri continues.

With an estimated value of US$250 million in 2013, the ICT/Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) sector is a high-performing segment of Jamaica’s services industries. It has enjoyed the highest employment growth rate of any sector in the last decade, and presently accounts for more than 14,000 jobs across the island.

The sector is comprised of approximately thirty-two local and foreign-owned companies primarily around call centers and BPO, to include, telecoms, banking, insurance and healthcare, tech support, gaming, finance and accounting. Liberalization of the telecommunications sector in 2003, introduction of Cyber Legislation in 2010. revision and introduction of BPO-focused training at institutions such as the HEART Trust/National Training Agency and various universities to create a BPO-ready labour pool and some of the strategies that have created a marketplace for this industry to thrive.

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