Women entrepreneurs dominated the Rural Youth Economic Empowerment Programme (RYEEP) National Agribusiness Pitch Competition, taking the top three spots at the finals held at the Cardiff Hotel in Runaway Bay, St. Ann on Thursday (May 21).
Westmoreland-based business operator, Marshanna Furze walked away with the coveted $1 million first place prize, with Sherine Henry placing second, and Rachel Knight third.
Organised by the Jamaica 4-H Clubs in partnership with the HEART/NSTA Trust and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, the competition featured outstanding presentations that highlighted the viability and creativity of youth-led farming and agro-processing.
A total of 38 competitors participated in the regional qualifiers with 12 selected to compete in the finals where they delivered business pitches to receive funding support.
An elated Miss Furze told JIS News that she will be using the prize money to expand her business venture, T&C Livestock Farm.
Miss Furze recounted a challenging lead-up to the finals, noting that labels for her product samples were printed incorrectly.
“Everything went wrong for me to come to this competition. Everything, down to my outfit was [ruined], because this wasn’t what I had planned to wear today,” she said.
Despite the setbacks, she persevered.
“For the regionals, I did not bring any products, and the presentation didn’t have any pictures. So, for the finals, I came here today to win the million dollars. I ensured that everything was on point,” she noted.
Upon being announced as the winner, Miss Furze became emotional. She shared that after discovering the printing error, she had sought a loan to correct it, but was discouraged by someone who told her not to put in the effort since she was not going to win.
“So, this [victory] to me, is like proving them wrong, to let them see this on national TV to see that your words did not define me,” she said.
She also expressed gratitude to the organisers and sponsors for providing opportunities for small farmers.
“I just want to tell them a very big thank you for putting this programme together so small farmers like myself can have this opportunity to win and scale up our production,” she said.
Second place competitor, Sherine Henry, who won $500,000 to bolster her ‘Mocho’ brand of spices, said she was elated.
“This will definitely aid me tremendously in my business venture to purchase my solar dehydrator and upgrade my processing facility,” she said.
She added that beyond funding, the competition provided valuable exposure.
“It’s an awesome privilege, as you get exposure to different entities and companies that you wouldn’t have known about. Through the 4-H Clubs and HEART/NSTA Trust, many opportunities became visible to me,” she noted.
Rachel Knight, who placed third, taking home $250,000, said the competition contributed to her personal and business growth.
“I have expanded my horizon to participate and to not be so shy and reserved as I was initially,” she shared.
She noted that her ‘Shepherd’ agricultural venture is a vertically integrated operation, combining livestock rearing and crop production, with plans to use funding to scale operations.
Manager of Business and Entrepreneurship Development at the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Odean Bernard, noted that the significant losses sustained by the agricultural sector due to Hurricane Melissa strengthened the decision to stage the National Agribusiness Pitch Competition.
“We knew that this year we had to do something; we couldn’t stop, despite all the turmoil and damage,” he pointed out.
RYEEP, a flagship initiative coordinated by the Jamaica 4-H Clubs and HEART/NSTA Trust, is aimed at empowering youth through training, capacity building, technical support, coaching, and innovative financing to increase access to agricultural technologies and drive innovation.
