Project Description
Parker Avery Supports Five More Entrepreneurs Through Its JEDI Challenge
Consulting firm continues its entrepreneur development program supporting economic opportunities in Jamaica
ATLANTA, GA — October 26, 2023 — The Parker Avery Group, a leading retail and consumer goods consulting and analytics firm, recently concluded the third iteration of its entrepreneur development program in Chapelton, Jamaica.
What began as a sponsorship for the Retail Orphan Initiative’s (RetailROI) Super Saturday charity event in 2021 has blossomed into a much-anticipated annual program called the Jamaican Entrepreneur Development Initiative (JEDI) Challenge. The JEDI Challenge mentors Jamaican entrepreneurs through an intense, eight-week curriculum with the objective of building a comprehensive business plan and providing seed funding for the businesses.
In partnership with RetailROI and the Fergus Simpson Foundation (FSF), a charitable organization in Chapelton (located in Jamaica’s interior parish of Clarendon), Parker Avery selects a handful of promising businesspeople to participate in the JEDI Challenge each year. While there is no cost to the participants, they are required to attend weekly JEDI classes and complete rigorous homework assignments. The assignments culminate into the final business plan deliverable. Parker Avery also provides technology assistance and works with FSF to secure local mentors in Jamaica to ensure the JEDIs are positioned for success.
Further, each JEDI participant is required to present their business in front of a panel of judges, similar to the popular TV show, Shark Tank. Two of the seven Parker Avery consultants who delivered the course content (aka “JEDI Counselors”) attended the presentations in person at Clarendon College in Jamaica, while the remaining judges watched the live-streamed presentations.
The 2023 JEDI Challenge businesses included a restaurant, a grocery store/ice cream parlor, a farm feed store, a technical services company, and a company providing innovative educational products and services. Unlike prior years, where participants were students at Clarendon College, this year’s cohort was intentionally an older group with vastly different backgrounds. Two of the participants had already started their businesses and were seeking to expand, while others intended to leverage their life experiences to create new ventures.
The JEDI program is instrumental in helping to achieve several of our organization’s goals focused on economic and leadership development. The JEDI participants may not otherwise have the opportunity to realize their dream of becoming entrepreneurs.
– Janeth Brown, President and Co-Founder of the Fergus Simpson Foundation
Each year, The Parker Avery Group awards tiered funding to each of the JEDI participants, based on the judges’ scoring and assessment of the businesses across multiple criteria. The top award for 2023 was granted to both the restaurant proprietor and the educational products and services company.
“We are so grateful for The Parker Avery Group’s commitment to the Chapelton community in Jamaica,” says Janeth Brown, FSF’s President and co-founder. “The JEDI program is instrumental in helping to achieve several of our organization’s goals focused on economic and leadership development. The JEDI participants may not otherwise have the opportunity to realize their dream of becoming entrepreneurs.”
The Parker Avery Group is again sponsoring RetailROI’s 2024 Super Saturday event in January, in conjunction with the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York City, where the firm will also be in the expo hall at booth #1307. Parker Avery plans on continuing the JEDI Challenge in 2024 with the goal of expanding the program to other companies and across the globe.
COME SEE US AT SUPER SATURDAY AND NRF!
About Parker Avery
The Parker Avery Group is a retail and consumer goods consulting firm that helps clients transform through the infusion of deep industry experience with strategy development, business process design, change management, advanced analytics, and solution implementation. The company’s roster of clients includes many of the world’s most prominent retail and consumer brands.
To learn more about The Parker Avery Group, please visit https://parkeravery.com.
About Fergus Simpson Foundation
The Fergus Simpson Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 corporation, operating in the United States and Jamaica since 2003. The mission of the Fergus Simpson Foundation is to enrich Chapelton and its surrounding areas by equipping its residents with educational, entrepreneurial, emotional, and spiritual resources and tools to improve their quality of life. Learn more at https://fergussimpsonfoundation.org/.
About RetailROI
RetailROI, Inc.’s purpose is to raise awareness and provide real solutions for the more than 400 million vulnerable children worldwide. Learn more at https://www.retailroi.org/.