“The Jamaica Central Securities Depository Limited (JCSD) recognized the challenges listed companies and other companies face in hosting their Annual General Meetings (AGMs), Extraordinary General Meetings (EGM) and other events during this Pandemic, as the Government’s and the Ministry of Health & Wellness, to protect the population, have mandated no gathering and/or restrictions on the number of persons attending an event face-to-face. The JCSD being the visionary company they are, partnered with AppFinity Technologies Limited (AppFinity) in delivering this service which will allow companies to host their meeting virtually or hybrid,” said Mrs. Marlene Street Forrest, Managing Director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, the parent company of JCSD.
The JCSD E-AGM Platform was launched on March 30, 2021, to a virtual audience from the listed companies and companies considering going public. The online gathering was particularly pleased with the demonstration that showed that this platform can be tailored to meet the meeting needs of any company that desired to host an event. Mrs. Marlene Street-Forrest in her address to the business community placed emphasis on good corporate governance, transparency and market confidence to ensure the growth and sustainability of businesses, during Covid-19 and post the pandemic.
She stated that “This platform is in keeping with the JSE Group’s mandate to ensure that we provide the best full-service offerings to you our clients and issuers of securities to the market. Enabling this virtual AGM platform powered by AppFinity will act as that medium to communicate with shareholders as we strive to protect the market and to protect and serve stakeholders.”
Mrs. Street-Forrest sought to reassure participants that “As an Exchange Group, we are also conscious of the implications of legislative changes on our own operations so that as we seek to provide products and services for you. We build in these considerations, either in the software we provide or the rules relating to the service. Issues such as data protection and cybersecurity are key to our process and these are areas of focus for us so that our services to you have embedded in them safeguards to mitigate risks,” she added in her closing comments.
Ms. Andrea Kelly, General Manager of the JCSD in her welcoming remarks, said that the “JCSD has pivoted to serve the market with a solution that is COVID proof. This solution removes the stress of planning an AGM and manoeuvring the many nuances of putting it all together to satisfy the requirements of the Companies Act. We do that for you. The solution can be personalized to your wishes, all documents and information uploaded; a one stop shop.”
Mrs. Kadyll McNaught-Hermitt, Manager of Registrar & Depository Services, described the JCSD E-AGM platform as a “full-service solution open to any Issuer whether or not they are a client of the JCSD. The platform can be easily branded and customized to meet the needs of the Issuer and in turn the shareholders. The solution is being provided by experts in the field of Registrar Services and Software Development and supports fully virtual or hybrid AGM or EAGM. The solution is cost-effective and included in the package are training and test runs so that the Issuer and participants are comfortable on the day of the AGM.”
AppFinity Technologies Limited
The JCSD E-AGM Platform solution is powered by the AppFinity. In his remarks, Mr. George Henry CEO and Founder said “Appfinity Technologies which was founded in 2017 provides a user-friendly platform through which AGM can be fully customized. The platform provides secure access for meetings and is operationally friendly for users within the app. The system provides a three-step process that gives users complete access and privacy and guarantees accurate data, daily backup with 24/7 monitoring backend software equipped for the technological vast time in which we are currently live.”
