Arnett Gardens resident Audrey Wright outside the ice cream business owned by her family at their home on 85 West Road. - Photo by Ross Sheil

Ross Sheil, Staff Reporter

Ordinarily, shopkeepers in the Kingston garrison communities of Arnett Gardens and Trench Town have to travel outside to buy goods to sell.

But if prominent business consultant and self-described 'social entrepreneur', Dr. Henley Morgan, has his way, this particular limitation of garrison life may be a thing of the past for those communities.

Grocery sub-distributors

Dr. Morgan's Arnett Gardens-based Agency for Inner City Renewal (AIR) will be opening a grocery sub-distributors in that community in the next two weeks, negotiating with suppliers - cutting out the middlemen and travel costs for shopkeepers. AIR already distributes cooking gas and has previously housed a banana chip factory on its compound at 85 West Road, before it was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

"Without this kind of economic activity you are going to have continued de-investment with more funds and wealth flowing out of the community ... the consequences are continued crime and violence, higher unemployment and decadence," he said.

One of AIR's chief goals, explained Dr. Morgan, is to act as a 'business incubator', fostering economic growth in the community.

He himself relocated his business, Caribbean Applied Technology Ltd., to the community from New Kingston. This was an act of faith - his Praise City International Church is also based on the same compound - which he hopes others in the private sector will emulate.

Just across the road from his compound is the Wright family home-based ice cream selling business. When The Gleaner stopped by yesterday morning Fay Wright was off the premises, having gone to buy goods in the Waltham Park area, her daughter Audrey left in charge.

"It's good because otherwise you haffi go to town. It more convenient and it will save money, y'man," said Ms. Wright, just just before her press-shy mother returned, paid her taxi fare and dashed inside to organise her purchases.

She and other family members previously worked in the banana chip factory.

Shopkeepers from the communities also form the majority of 25 persons from inner-city areas currently participating in a 10-day training course at the University of Technology's own business incubator, the Technology Innovation Centre.

The Ministry of Industry, Energy and Commerce is also proposing to start a business incubator in Manchester. This is part of a submission on business incubators currently before Cabinet, said ministry press secretary Allan Brooks.

ross.sheil@gleanerjm.com