Four Jamaican inventors receive grant funding

Each inventor received J$4 million under the DBJ’s Patent Grant Fund, the company added of a programme that falls under its Boosting Innovation Growth & Entrepreneurship Ecosystems (BIGEE), funded by the Government of Jamaica through a US$25 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and a grant of US$8.2 million from the European Union.

Christopher Brown, programme manager, BIGEE, in making the announcement, stated: “In October 2022 after extensive discussions with several of Jamaica’s key stakeholders, we introduced the Patent Grant Fund as a pilot.  The response to the product was overwhelming, at the close of submission, 15 applications were received, 10 were evaluated and eventually we awarded grants to these four innovating and game-changing projects.  We are very pleased to announce that the selection panel which comprised of all experts in their field arrived at these four Jamaican projects that are poised to be world-class products.”

Lu’Shana Cheddesingh, technical coordinator, direct business, BIGEE, who has direct responsibility for the Patent Grant Fund explained: “The grants approved for the inventors may be used to finance patent application fees, engaging an approved Patent Attorney to conduct pre-filing search, assessment, drafting and filing, and preparation of other miscellaneous documents. The grant can be utilised for filing patent applications in Jamaica or any other jurisdiction.”

“For Cycle 2 of the fund we have amended the product eligibility requirements to encourage more applications. Jamaican inventors can now apply for the Patent Grant Fund via our website- www.thinkbigee.com the application period will be open until September 30, 2023,” Cheddesingh confirmed.

The DBJ is opening the application window for Cycle 2 of the Fund.

BIGEE has been established to ensure robust and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems for Jamaica.

The four awardees, the names of their businesses, target sector and jurisdiction in which the patents are to be registered are: 

Inventor:  Alison “Debbie” Turner 
Name of Business: Turner Innovation Limited
Product: Sorrel De-seeder
Targeted Jurisdiction: Local, USA and world patent
Targeted sector: Agricultural, forestry and fishing

Inventor:  Rayvon Stewart
Name of Business: Xermosol Supplies Limited
Product: Xermosol
Targeted Jurisdiction: WIPO Patent Corporation Treaty (PCT) – Contracting States
Targeted sector: Human health & social work activities

Inventor:  Damani Thomas
Name of Business:  Carbon Neutral Initiative Limited
Product: DE30 Biofuel
Targeted Jurisdiction: Jamaica, USA and United Kingdom
Targeted Sector:  Services

Inventor:  Nkrumah Fong
Name of Business:  Consolidated Environmental Research Laboratory
Product: Pre-Filter Exhaust Cap
Targeted Jurisdiction: International – PCT, European Union, Great Britain, USA, China
Target Sector: Manufacturing