Hylton’s STEM vision gets $2m boost

Five years ago, Kavelle Hylton established STEM Builders Learning Hub because she wanted to increase access to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subject for students who would otherwise be at a disadvantage.

Stemming from her own experience of attending a non-traditional high school, where specialist teachers in these subject areas were limited, Hylton said she wanted to create a business that provided enrichment activities for students and professional development for STEM teachers.

The educator of more than 15 years said the STEM Builders Learning Hub, which is based in Portmore, St Catherine, has since impacted countless students across Jamaica. Over the years, it has partnered with corporate companies – such as Digicel and the National Commercial Bank – to carry out STEM-based initiatives in schools, develop STEM programmes for schools, and facilitate science clubs and after-school activities.

She shared that more than 200 students – with some as young as two years old – had registered for its summer programme.

Yesterday, Hylton was awarded a $2 million grant from the Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC) after STEM Builders Learning Hub emerged the winner of the ministry’s Master’s Business Pitch competition.

Elated that she received the award, Hylton said it was a result of betting on herself and having the “audacity to try to confront yourself to feel like you actually deserve it”.

With this grant, the educator plans to expand her business and eventually create an app to close administrative and reading gaps in the early childhood sector.

“You have students who are reading at four years old, so what is separating those students from students in the underrepresented areas like the inner cities? How can we create a holistic approach that addresses exposing them to the right curriculum and books and also ensure that we monitor their attendance properly and that we can address and intervene early?” she said.

Hylton was presented the award at the Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) Linkages Day hosted by the MIIC at The University of Technology, Jamaica, on Tuesday.

The event provided practical support through grants and incentives, promoted financial empowerment by connecting businesses with key funding opportunities, and facilitated valuable networking and business-to-business linkages.

WAY FORWARD

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, the keynote speaker, declared that the Jamaican economy could not grow unless its entrepreneurial class grew. He said it was essential that individuals be willing to mobilise labour, technology, management, and creativity to create a system that is profitable and adds value.

Branding entrepreneurs as “agents of economic development”, the prime minister said a resurgence is happening.

“True economic transformation begins not in the boardrooms or government buildings but with our people, the entrepreneurs and innovators who see potential in the face of obstacles. Entrepreneurs are nation builders. MSMEs are the foundation,” he said.

He noted that MSMEs represented over 90 per cent of all enterprises in the economy, employed 60-70 per cent of the workforce, contributed 44 per cent of gross domestic product, and accounted for nearly 12 per cent of total tax revenues last year.

“If we are serious about building a resilient, productive, and inclusive economy, we continue to bet on our entrepreneurs,” he said.

Stating that MSMEs has been at the “heart of national policy” over the past five years, Holness said between January and July this year, 9,000 business names and 3,000 companies were registered.

He noted that the MSMEs business roadshow, which has since been hosted across eight parishes, has benefited 2,000 MSMEs. Additionally, a total of $17.6 million in grants has been allocated. Entrepreneurs have also benefited from training opportunities and linkages to financial institutions and digital platforms.

Stating that growth cannot happen without capital, Holness said the Government has been improving access to financing for MSMEs. He noted that the EXIM bank has disbursed nearly $10 billion in MSMEs loan since 2021 and the Development Bank of Jamaica has supported lending with a $2 billion facility. He said the Government has also eliminated upfront fees by allowing MSMEs to roll them into the principal, making it easier for small businesses to borrow and grow.

“Jamaicans are no longer waiting on a job. They are creating one,” he said. “And that didn’t happen by itself. Yes, a large part of it was organic, but the Government has been very deliberate, very instrumental, very direct, very hands-on, in promoting this idea of enterprise, industry, and entrepreneurship,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com