Dionne Rose, Business Reporter

Joy Heatley, international trade adviser of Black Country Chamber of Commerce, discusses business with Matthew Pragnell, chief executive officer of CGM Gallagher Group in Jamaica. Occasion was a three-day visit of a 12-member trade mission from the United Kingdom, which was visiting Jamaica. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

Glen Small and his wife Juliet sell hair. The Jamaican couple who are resident in the United Kingdom are back home as part of a British trade mission which comes annually to promote products, and hunt business partners and markets.

Eleven companies arrived in the island on Wednesday for a three-day visit to explore business opportunities in the country.

The companies were part of 12-member trade mission led by Joy Heatley, international trade adviser of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, as part of a regional tour, which includes Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.

"The purpose of this visit, which is supported by UK Trade and Investment, a government depart-ment, is to establish business links between the regions of the West midlands in the UK and the entire Caribbean region," she told the Financial Gleaner.

The companies, which are from the West Midlands region, which includes areas such as Birmingham and Solihull, offer goods and services, including restaurant franchise operations, travel services, event marketing, cosmetology (hair), management and vocational training and development.

"There are some people who will be setting up franchises, there are some people who will be setting up maybe joint ventures in manufacturing - all possibilities are yet to be discussed," she told the Financial Gleaner.

Heatley said the Caribbean region was being targeted because of the suitability of the region as a market for products being offered by her industry members.

Jamaican women, for example, are big consumers of woven hair or extensions.

The Smalls are trying to develop business links in Jamaica for their new hair product line.

Small, who has been in the haircare product business in the UK for 25 years, says he wants to establish a distribution centre in Jamaica for his products.

"The hair extension market is a growing market. So, we really want to tap into that here in Jamaica because we know that with the colours and things like that it will do well," said Juliet.

"It is doing very well in Europe at the moment and we want to extend that to Jamaica."

Encouraging responses

Small said the responses from other Caribbean countries have been encouraging.

"My husband has actually been in Barbados and Trinidad and they have been placing very big orders because they see that it is a new innovation and they want to get on it quickly," she said.

Laurence Jones, regional manager for Europe at investment promotion agency, Jamaica Trade and Invest, said that the mission is expected to reap benefits for the Jamaican economy.

"In fact, this is just one of many, which will be happening over the next year. There is one scheduled for September," he told the Financial Gleaner.

"We've been told by the UK minister of trade, Lord Dickey Jones, that he will be hosting or leading a ministerial trade and investment mission early next year. We are hoping for February," he said.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com