Ventures, LLC, Lloyd Carney (centre) with executive members of the Caribbean Association in China (CAC) after dinner and his presentation on 'Career Development and Start-Up Business'. CAC members, (from left) First Vice-President, Earl Carr, President, Nicoleen Johnson, Treasurer, Cadelia Ambrose and Secretary, Virginia Hunt. - Contributed

A Jamaican-born venture capitalist is selling WiFi infrastructure and web-based video as areas flush with business opportunity in China's booming economy.

Lloyd Carney, the chairman and chief executive officer of Carney Global Ventures LLC (CGV), also told a meeting of Caribbean nationals in China, that Shanghai, a bustling metropolis of about 20 million, was one of the best locations to invest in technology-based business.

He was making a presentation on career development and startup business at a dinner, September 29, for the Caribbean Association in China (CAC) and associates of the group at the Casa 13 Medi-terranean Restaurant near the upscale French Concession area of Shanghai.

early-round global venture

Carney Global is an early-round global venture fund incorporated in the United States.

Before Carney founded the company, he was chairman and CEO of Micromuse, an IT and telecom infrastructure management tools provider.

IBM acquired MicroMuse in February 2006.

The deal was said to be worth about US$800 million.

MicroMuse was created in the 1990s as an environment for the interaction of people in distant places.

It became popular with college students as a social environment to interact with others across the world.

With an educational background in electrical engineering, Carney has been doing business in China for the last 20 years.

"There has been more wealth created in China in the last five years than at any other place anywhere in history," the venture capitalist told CAC members.

"Shanghai is ground zero."

The CAC is a five-month-old group founded in April 2007 by 11 Caribbean nationals either working or studying in China.

representatives at dinner

Carney's dinner was attended by nationals from Jamaica, Grenada, South Africa, Uganda, The Bahamas, St. Lucia, Suriname, the United Kingdom, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, the United States, Mainland China, Hong Kong and Peru, said the CAC in a release on the presentation.

The venture capitalist, who said he was laughed at during a college class when announced his plan to be the director of an engineering company within five years, reached his goal in four years.

He used this example to drive home one of his own investment principles: have a long-term plan, and know that it will change every now and then.

"To be successful without sacrifice is like playing the lottery. The chances are slim to none," he said. "You don't want to live your life like you're playing the lottery. You have to have a plan."

The key to being able to take advantage of China's booming economy, he said, is to figure out how to help China meet its goals.

"If you can help China 'win', you can make a lot of money just by getting a little piece of a contract," he said. "What are you exposed to that will help you take advantage of China's rising tide? It lifts all ships; you just have to be there."

With foreign-exchange reserves of US$1.3 trillion and double-digit GDP growth in the first half of this year, China remains the world's fastest growing economy.

business@gleanerjm.com