The Draper Innovation Index (DII) ranks 228 countries on the conditions that enable entrepreneurship to thrive; from government quality and economic environment to innovation and social norms. Jamaica’s overall DII ranking is modest, but it does very little to capture what is actually happening on the island.

Jamaica is often called a “cultural powerhouse” – an island nation whose music, sports, and culture have had outsized global impact for generations. That same dynamic energy is visible in its entrepreneurial ecosystem, and its young people are leading the charge.

What Makes Jamaica Stand Out

The data on entrepreneurial activity in Jamaica turns global averages on their head. In most economies, early-stage entrepreneurship is dominated by older age groups. In Jamaica, it is the youth who lead:

• 27% of Jamaicans aged 18-24 are involved in early-stage entrepreneurial activity, compared to a global average of just 15.5%. The 25-34 age group is even more active at 32%, far outpacing the 17.8% global average.
• In 2021/22, women were the driving force behind the majority (59%) of all early-stage entrepreneurial ventures in the country.
• Young Jamaicans express higher-than-average belief in their own ability to start a business – self-belief is not the problem.

This combination of female leadership, youth engagement, and confidence creates a genuinely dynamic environment.

The Real Challenges

The obstacles facing Jamaican entrepreneurs are real and worth understanding clearly:

• High business discontinuance: In 2011, Jamaica had one of the highest rates of business closures among participating nations in a global study, pointing to real difficulties in sustaining ventures long-term.
• Low opportunity perception: Despite high confidence in their own skills, young Jamaicans are less likely than their Caribbean neighbors to identify good opportunities to pursue – a critical gap between capability and opportunity recognition.
• COVID-19 setback: The pandemic caused a drop in the number of people starting and owning businesses, and 63.1% of entrepreneurs reported that starting a business became harder.
• Technology adoption lag: Only 35% of early-stage entrepreneurs expected to increase their use of digital tools – lower than peer economies and a significant disadvantage in today’s e-commerce-driven world.
• Access to finance: Jamaica’s performance on entrepreneurial finance metrics is only about average, meaning access to capital remains an area with clear room to improve.

The Foundations Are Strengthening

Education is a major success story in Jamaica and a critical foundation for its future entrepreneurs. The country has made impressive strides:

• The percentage of Jamaicans aged 25+ with post-secondary education more than doubled in a decade, rising from under 14% in 2011 to 33% in 2022.
• The number of young people in education or training programmes climbed from 41% in 2008 to nearly 48% in 2023.

On innovation, Jamaica punches above its weight. It ranks 63rd globally on the DII Innovation sub-index – ahead of many of its Caribbean neighbors, and scores highly on social and cultural norms that support entrepreneurship, as well as on entrepreneurship education in schools.

The Path Forward

Jamaica has a track record of producing entrepreneurs who reach the world stage; such as Chris Blackwell who co-founded Island Records at age 22 and brought reggae music to a global audience. The foundations are clearly there: a resilient and confident population, a strong cultural identity, rising education levels, and young people who are not waiting around.

The focus now needs to be on helping businesses survive longer, increasing technology adoption, and improving access to capital. The next Chris Blackwell is out there. The question is whether the ecosystem will catch up to the talent.

Learn more about BizWorld’s international partnership with Jamaica

Explore the full Draper Innovation Index at https://bizworld.org/index/