Edited March 27, 2018.
The founder and chairman of New Fortress Energy (NFE), Wes Edens, partnered with the Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship at Brown University and the Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM) to host two (2) entrepreneurship workshops yesterday (March 26, 2018). Mr. Edens' company has poured significant investment into helping Jamaica smoothly transition into the natural gas industry. He revealed that the workshops are part of his commitment to support economic development and job creation in Jamaica.
These workshops were held at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus, at 9:30 am, and at 3:00 pm at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel. They were led by Danny Warshay, award winning educator, successful entrepreneur, and executive director of the Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship at Brown University.
A press release from the organisers said that Warshay would assist workshop participants to develop entrepreneurial confidence, learn how to master and apply the structured entrepreneurial process, use bottom-up research to find and validate unmet needs as well as build their entrepreneurial networks. Warshay also discussed the critical importance of observing and listening anthropologically and empathetically in the entrepreneurial process.
"Wherever I teach throughout the world, entrepreneurship is a key driver to economic development, and so teaching entrepreneurship is an essential catalyst for economic growth. I am excited to be leading these workshops in Jamaica, thanks to Wes Edens and the New Fortress Energy, as well as the University of the West Indies. Based on the successes of these kinds of workshops elsewhere, I am confident that participants will find value in them and that these efforts will create even more opportunities for entrepreneurs in Jamaica," Mr. Warshay said.
Earlier, speaking about the motivation behind the workshops, Jake Suski, managing director for public affairs at New Fortress Energy, commended Jamaicans for their entrepreneurial spirit:
The founder and chairman of New Fortress Energy (NFE), Wes Edens, partnered with the Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship at Brown University and the Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM) to host two (2) entrepreneurship workshops yesterday (March 26, 2018). Mr. Edens' company has poured significant investment into helping Jamaica smoothly transition into the natural gas industry. He revealed that the workshops are part of his commitment to support economic development and job creation in Jamaica.
These workshops were held at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus, at 9:30 am, and at 3:00 pm at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel. They were led by Danny Warshay, award winning educator, successful entrepreneur, and executive director of the Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship at Brown University.
A press release from the organisers said that Warshay would assist workshop participants to develop entrepreneurial confidence, learn how to master and apply the structured entrepreneurial process, use bottom-up research to find and validate unmet needs as well as build their entrepreneurial networks. Warshay also discussed the critical importance of observing and listening anthropologically and empathetically in the entrepreneurial process.
"Wherever I teach throughout the world, entrepreneurship is a key driver to economic development, and so teaching entrepreneurship is an essential catalyst for economic growth. I am excited to be leading these workshops in Jamaica, thanks to Wes Edens and the New Fortress Energy, as well as the University of the West Indies. Based on the successes of these kinds of workshops elsewhere, I am confident that participants will find value in them and that these efforts will create even more opportunities for entrepreneurs in Jamaica," Mr. Warshay said.
Earlier, speaking about the motivation behind the workshops, Jake Suski, managing director for public affairs at New Fortress Energy, commended Jamaicans for their entrepreneurial spirit:
"Jamaicans have a natural tendency toward entrepreneurship, evidenced by the many innovative businesses that make significant contributions to the economy. We want to help encourage and foster even more entrepreneurship in Jamaica and support growth alongside organisation like the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), First Angels, Branson Centre, and the universities who are already doing valuable work in this space."
Additionally, he reiterated the company and its founder's commitment to supporting entrepreneurship in Jamaica:
"Investment in sustainable growth of Jamaica by supporting entrepreneurship and education is central to the vision of our founder, Wes Edens, and we look forward to building meaningful partnerships and investing in programmes that will have a lasting impact," he said.
As part of its long-term investment in Jamaica's energy landscape, New Fortress Energy undertook several iniatives last year (2017), including breaking ground at Jamalco for the new gas-fired heat and power plant, which is estimated to create over 500 jobs. In addition, as part of an overall partnership with the UWI, New Fortress Energy is funding 10 scholarships for UWI Mona students with clear need for financial assistance to pay for their tuition, and providing guest lecturers to the School Engineering for enhanced curriculum around natural gas, cryogenics and energy projects. The workshops are being hosted in association with the JBDC, DBJ and First Angels Jamaica.
