The SMC Group and EMCVPA Partner to Boost Jamaica’s Creative Industries
30.6.2021 17:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Jamaica’s creative sector has received a major boost through a partnership between global entertainment marketing agency, The SMC Group, and The Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA). This arrangement aims to foster the development of Jamaican talent and the island’s Creative Industries.
The venture will begin with an investment into the development of a music production studio to support local song writers, producers, and artistes. SMC also intends to recruit EMCVPA students for apprenticeships and job placements. This ground-breaking initiative will enhance the music and audio production, animation, as well as dance specialisations at the College.
The partnership is the latest positive development in the island’s creative industries which have seen considerable growth in recent years.
In the film industry, more than 4000 film-related jobs have been created in the last three years while approximately 150 foreign productions are facilitated per year. Over 3 billion JMD in film production expenditure was contributed to GDP in the last two years, and approximately 65-70 percent of crews hired on most international film productions in Jamaica are local.
The country also has a growing animation industry with 15 local studios having participated in government-led programmes to increase their profitability and sustainability.
CEO of The SMC Group, Maurice Hamilton, revealed that the collaboration between the group and EMCVPA will add to the progress that has already been made in the creative industries by expanding investment into the areas of talent and content in the music and audio-visual sectors.
“This is the first step of an exciting initiative to establish Jamaica and then the wider Caribbean region as a creative hub that will develop creative and business professionals as well as content,” the CEO remarked. “And for SMC, it creates a solid, efficient pipeline of creative talent to service our global clients.”
The CEO also disclosed that SMC intends to build a centre of excellence in Jamaica and will be engaging in additional investments and local partnerships.
“We want to ensure that our commitment to Jamaican talent is substantive,” he insisted. “Through greater education, funding, and through our network within the global marketplace we can provide a platform from which Jamaican talent can flourish internationally.”
The island has seen several ventures over the years led by the private sector, public sector or both, which seek to advance the creative industry. Programmes such as the Business of Sustainability for Studios (BOSS) programme, JAFTA Propella film development programme, and the Film Lab initiative help entrepreneurs grow their animation and film production studios, and increase content development.
In the spirit of these collaborations between industry stakeholders, Diane Edwards, President of Jamaica’s investment and export promotions agency, JAMPRO, welcomed the cooperation between SMC and EMCVPA.
“At JAMPRO, we believe that partnership is essential to building local industries and to creating valuable opportunities for Jamaica’s people, so we are pleased to see this agreement between SMC and Edna Manley College,” she said.
EMCVPA’s Vice Principal of Administration and Resource Development, Ms. Kerry Ann Henry, shared her enthusiasm for the partnership and explained that its objectives were in keeping with the college’s mission. She stated, “This is a partnership that will not just strengthen our respective organizations, it will be of enormous benefit to the country in fields related to the visual and performing arts.”
About The SMC Group
The SMC Group operates in 17 markets across the globe and has worked on campaigns for brands like The Coca-Cola Company, Net-A-Porter, Unilever, Diageo, Cartier and a host of globally recognizable names. Their projects have also involved celebrities like Jamaican Olympian Usain Bolt, Korean pop band BTS, Colombian superstar Maluma and American celebrities such as Kevin Hart, Jason Derulo and Kanye West.
ABOUT JAMPRO
The Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO)’s mission is to drive economic development through growth in investment and export. JAMPRO is an Agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment, and Commerce.
For more information on JAMPRO, please visit https://dobusinessjamaica.com/.
Follow us on:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210630005271/en/
Contact information
Integrated Marketing Communications
Tamica Parchment
tparchment@jamprocorp.com
Tele: 876-978-7755
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS and Chile’s State-owned Copper Company CODELCO Launch a Study and Proof of Concept Aimed at Improving the Efficiency of Remote Copper Mine Operations Using IOWN ® APN6.8.2026 07:30:00 EEST | Press release
NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS, Inc. (formerly NTT Communications Corporation) has launched a study and proof of concept jointly with Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (CODELCO) to progress remote operations at CODELCO’s copper mines using an IOWN® All-Photonics Network (APN).1 This initiative is part of a research project commissioned by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.2 This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260806845222/en/ Conceptual Diagram of the Demonstration To address operational challenges faced by CODELCO’s copper mines, the initiative will connect a copper mine and a remote operations center—approximately 1,500 km apart—via an IOWN APN. It will assess the feasibility of remotely operating heavy machinery using high-capacity, low-latency communication links, enhancing monitoring operations through high-definition video, and implementing a remote operations model. 1. Background Chile is o
FPT Named an OpenAI Select Partner6.8.2026 03:00:00 EEST | Press release
Global IT corporation FPT today announced that it has been named an OpenAI Select Partner within the OpenAI Partner Network. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260805503787/en/ FPT Named an OpenAI Select Partner The OpenAI Partner Network is a global program for partners to build, sell, and deliver AI solutions with OpenAI. It brings together partners with deep industry expertise, delivery capabilities, and customer relationships while equipping them with resources, enablement, and support to help enterprises adopt OpenAI frontier models and products and turn them into measurable impact. As an OpenAI Select Partner, FPT will continue working with OpenAI to help organizations build, deploy, and scale AI solutions responsibly and effectively. This work will help organizations get more useful work from every token and stronger performance per dollar with GPT‑5.6, while using ChatGPT Work to turn ambitious goals into
U.S. FDA Approves Takeda’s ORZEYFUL™ (oveporexton), the First and Only Medicine to Treat the Underlying Cause of Narcolepsy Type 16.8.2026 01:10:00 EEST | Press release
Takeda (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ORZEYFUL™ (oveporexton), an oral orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonist, for the treatment of narcolepsy type 1 (NT1, narcolepsy with cataplexy) in adults.* The persistent 24-hour nature of NT1 is driven by orexin deficiency and can severely impact people’s lives. As a first-in-class orexin treatment, ORZEYFUL is the only medicine indicated in the U.S. to treat the disease holistically rather than individual symptoms. “The FDA approval of ORZEYFUL marks a new chapter for the narcolepsy type 1 community, as we introduce an entirely new class of medicine that will potentially redefine how this disease is managed and howpeople feel on treatment,” said Julie Kim, president and chief executive officer of Takeda. “We are proud to have discovered and developed this orexin treatment innovation and will bring it to adults living with NT1 as quickly as possible.” NT1 is a rare, chronic neurological disease d
Compass Pathways Announces New Employee Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)5.8.2026 23:30:00 EEST | Press release
Compass Pathways plc (Nasdaq: CMPS), a biotechnology company dedicated to unlocking urgently needed new treatment options in mental health care, announced today that Compass granted equity awards under the Compass Pathways plc 2026 Inducement Plan to fourteen newly hired non-executive employees. The equity awards were granted on August 3, 2026 and consisted of options to purchase an aggregate of 139,355 shares and restricted share units or, in the case of employees in the United Kingdom nominal cost options, covering an aggregate of 66,300 shares. The options have an exercise price per share equal to $11.25, the closing price of the Company’s American Depositary Shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on the grant date, and will vest over a four-year period with 25% vesting on the first anniversary of the date of the grant and the remaining 75% vesting in equal monthly installments over the three-year period thereafter, subject to each employee’s continued employment. The restricted
Clinilabs Announces Medical Leadership Appointments5.8.2026 17:05:00 EEST | Press release
Clinilabs (“Clinilabs LLC”), a global, full-service contract research organization (CRO) specializing in central nervous system (CNS) drug and device development, today announced the appointments of Bob Dagher, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer and Waqar Ahmed Siddiqui, M.D., as Principal Investigator of the Company’s Eatontown, New Jersey Clinical Research Unit (CRU). Dr. Dagher will provide strategic and medical leadership across the organization, while Dr. Siddiqui will lead the execution of research projects at the Company’s CRU. Together, they will support the design, development, and execution of clinical programs for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device sponsors advancing innovative therapies for psychiatric, neurological, substance use, and rare CNS disorders. “Clinilabs has earned the trust of sponsors by combining deep scientific expertise, medical leadership, and operational excellence with a track record of execution from first-in-human studies through regulatory
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom