Get Money & Visbility to Scale Your Business, Enter Conference 2018 Pitch Room Challenge

The Jamaica Stock Exchange is proud to be sponsoring another Venture Capital Pitch Room as part of the exciting line up of opportunities at the 2018 Regional Investments & Capital Markets Conference to be held at The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, January 23-25, 2018.  On Day 2 of the Conference, January 24, 2018, the winner will walk away with Three Hundred Thousand Dollars (J$300,000.00), media and marketing training as well as other capacity building support to accelerate their business to the next level.

The Pitch Room will feature a one-hour segment where six (6) lucky entrepreneurs will have precisely six minutes each to pitch their proposals for venture capital funding.  The expectations are as follows:

Entrepreneurs’ presentations must state clearly:

• What their product or service is;
• The unique value being offered or competitive advantage enjoyed;
• The amount and type of funding being requested and the purpose for which it will be used;
• What percentage stake of the business they are willing to give up.

The judges will identify the top three (3) most promising new or existing ventures, of which one will receive financial & technical assistance, subject to due diligence and provided that the proposals present a viable business proposition that is considered worthy of funding.

Proposals will be judged on:

• Business viability
• Clarity of presentation
• Feasible organizational and marketing strategy
• Demonstrated expertise and passion for the business of the Entrepreneur(s)

Benefits:

• The business product/service receives exposure to potential investors and customers
• The possibility of securing Venture Capital funding
• Great advertising platforms
• Feedback from investors on the business idea product and/or service

Conditions to apply:

Please be advised that the following eligibility requirements must be satisfied in order to be considered for participation in the programme:

1.    The Entrant (s) must be 18 years or older.
2.    The business must be at least 50% Jamaican.
3.    The Entrant (s) must be a part of the Management team or be the business owner (s)/ conceptualizer (s).
4.    The Entrant (s) must be willing to negotiate and/or entertain discussions for equity investment.
5.    The business must not be listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
6.    The Entrant (s) must be willing to register their businesses as public companies.
7.    The Entrant (s) should be persons considered fit and proper by the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

APPLICATION PROCESS:

Entrepreneurs interested in applying to participate, must download, print, complete and return the documents listed below to the JSE’s Marketing Department. If applying as part of a team of founders/owners/conceptualizers, each entrant must complete and submit a separate application form and accept the conditions of the releases/agreements.

1.  JSE Venture Capital Pitch Room 2018 Application Form
2. JSE-Venture-Capital-Pitch-Room-2018-Business-Plan-Questionnaire
3.  Submitted Material Release
4.  Pitch Release Agreement

NB. Selected companies must be available and willing to participate in coaching sessions organized by the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS IS JANUARY 12, 2018