New partnership targets startup growth, innovation

A partnership between the University of Technology (UTech), Jamaica’s Technology Innovation Centre (TIC), RevUp Caribbean Limited and FirstAngels Caribbean (FAC) is intended to strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem over the next three years. Under a recently signed memorandum of understanding, the organisations have committed to improving access to funding, mentorship, incubation and regional investment opportunities for early-stage startups.

The agreement aims to create clearer pathways from incubation to investor readiness, helping new ventures scale into sustainable businesses. Signed on March 16, 2026, the arrangement is also expected to reinforce Jamaica’s position as a regional centre for entrepreneurial development.

Speaking during a meeting and mock signing at UTech, Jamaica’s Papine campus on April 1, UTech president, Dr Kevin Brown, described the collaboration as a critical link between incubation and investment.

“The value-added benefit in this partnership is the ability to support start-ups through funding. It’s not only for them to remain at the start-up level, but if they have an idea that they want to explore, they know that we will incubate their businesses. That next step of getting additional equity, funding and helping them to scale is open and I think that this MOU will really help to move that forward,” Brown said. “I’m really excited and looking forward to what can happen,” he added.

At the core of the partnership is ongoing collaboration through joint programmes, shared resources and coordinated promotion of each organisation’s services. It also integrates RevUp’s “Partners and Perks” initiative, which gives start-ups discounted access to business services, including technology tools and back-office support, reducing early operational constraints.

The TIC will act as a development pipeline, preparing incubator graduates for investment readiness and referring tier one to tier three ventures into RevUp’s five-month virtual incubator. In addition, it will provide access to facilities, academic and corporate networks and capacity-building programmes, while setting out annual service offerings for RevUp and FirstAngels Caribbean clients.

Welcoming the partnership, Andrea Bolton Fyffe, incubator manager,TIC, noted, “Training is critical – not just for building a business, but for strengthening governance.” She added that the TIC is pleased to be playing a key role in fostering structured support and mentorship that will serve the participants well in the long term.

FirstAngels Caribbean, meanwhile, will focus on unlocking financing for high-potential start-ups. It has committed to offering qualifying ventures, including TIC graduates, the opportunity to pitch for equity and quasi-equity funding through its regional investor network, while also promoting TIC programmes and collaborating on strategic growth initiatives.

Sandra Glasgow, managing director of RevUp Caribbean Limited, said sustained entrepreneurial success requires discipline as much as vision.

“Every founder is different, every business has different challenges, and we have to figure out how to help them stay on track and achieve the vision they started with,” she said, adding that success must be measured in growth rather than visibility. “Many founders are more interested in how they look, the PR part of it, but the real success comes from growing a company. The only way to succeed is to grow the business, keep your investors satisfied, your customers happy, and your internal processes working.”

Melanie Subratie, chairman of FirstAngels Caribbean Limited, pointed to the importance of resilience within the ecosystem, arguing that failure should be seen as part of the learning process.

“If you look at global founders, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs … many have failed before succeeding,” she said. “There needs to be some regulation and structural change so that it’s okay to fail…We need an environment where entrepreneurs can learn, rebuild, and grow.”