Melanie V. Wynter has 11 years of new business development, operations and emerging market management experience. Ms. Wynter was the driving force behind the global expansion of Elizabeth Sloane. She was the Deputy Managing Director of Elizabeth Sloane African operation: A global business management consulting firm that specializes in external affairs for international development companies, digital transformation for government, and business strategy for medium-sized companies within the Caribbean and West Africa.

She holds a Licentiate degree in Marine Navigation Technology from Nova Scotia Nautical Institute and a MSc. in Business Intelligence and Big Data from Universidad Isabel I, also a Baugh Fund Scholar. With Executive Education in Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Business Development.

Ms. Wynter serves on the board of Elizabeth Sloane LLC, Jamaica Rural Youth Foundation USA and is a member of the World Economic Global Shapers. Melanie is known for being a renown global speaker on entrepreneurship, STEAM education,digital transformation for operational efficiency, and spoken at seminars, and conferences in the Gambia, Dominican Republic, Texas, Jamaica and she also presented a Methodology for business management at TEDx.

A self-described serial entrepreneur with the fire to capitalize on market gaps, Narda Ventura, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at SkyBlue Transaction Solutions recounts that her company’s eZeePayments.com platform was driven by market research. This having pivoted from www.schoolfeepayments.com, what was meant to be a more accessible and more efficient way to pay school fees.

eZeePayments.com is a subsidiary of its parent company, SkyBlue Transactions Solutions, and is a licensed payment facilitator that operates using a customer to customer (C2C) and business to business (B2B) business model. The solution works by receiving and transferring funds to merchants and other customers, similar to Stripe and PayPal.

A Strategist, Leader, and Culture Builder, Narda notes that EzeePayments.com was developed in response to a growing demand for individuals, small, medium sized and established businesses that want to start processing online payments immediately.

Through EzeePayments.com she has created a solution with the sole purpose of facilitating quick and secure online payments from customers, and at the same time provide the simplest solution to accepting card payments in the shortest space of time.

The solution is primarily for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that want to engage in e-commerce but lack technical knowledge, such as a website that meets security payment requirements and operates within time and budgetary constraints.

A recent newspaper article described Narda Ventura as a woman in tech. She also describes herself as an aggressive entrepreneur who can solve problems for people who have similar challenges. Growth-oriented and unrelenting in her pursuits, Ventura also wants to make a significant impact in the FinTech space by providing solutions that serve the underbanked and help businesses scale.

She is also the managing director and founder of H2O Werx, which offers swimming lessons through her school Aquawerx, and trains competitive swimmers through the Viking Swim Club.

Being passionate about problem solving, taking intentional risks and getting big things done on time, Olivia Lindsay founded 876 On the Go. This company was established as a technology driven transportation and logistics solution business in 2017.

Ms. Lindsay combines over 15 years of experience in marketing, business development, strategic planning and leadership. Intrigued with educational excellence, Olivia holds a BSc in Management Studies with an emphasis in Marketing from Northern Caribbean University, and a MSc in Strategic Planning from Edinburgh Business School. She is now a Ph.D. Candidate at UNICAF University in Business Administration.

Olivia uses the latest cutting-edge technology that enables the public to book cabs and facilitates payments, thus eliminating the need for cash onboard. This platform provides greater security coverage for both the passengers and drivers but is tailored and driven by a Geographical Information System (GIS) that operates in a similar fashion as our esteemed North American Counterpart such as UBER. She says “Despite the obvious comparisons, we can proudly declare that our system is uniquely Jamaican.” 876 On the Go is preparing to join the Jamaica Stock Exchange and began international negotiations to expand to West Africa, Latin America, Europe and the Caribbean. In 2023 she launched the wheelchair and rental services.

Ms. Lindsay is happiest mentoring young entrepreneurs and advocating for road safety as VP of Jamaica Caribbean Youth Network for Road Safety. She was appointed a Board Director for UCC, Global Knowledge Process Solutions. This organization enables technology driven solutions that creates economic value. While serving as President of Caribbean Taxi Association, Olivia finds the time to be Director for Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services and Deputy Chair of the Board of Paramount Communications & Marketing, LLC in the USA.

Shelly Heaven, the Founder and CEO, for ecommerce marketplace, FarmLinkr.com, is transforming agriculture by building greater linkages between farmers and buyers via digital and innovative solutions! She is an Entrepreneur pursuing a long-term vision to unlock value in agriculture by using technology to transform the sector and the lives of farmers.

A former CFO with a combined over 20 years’ experience, with 8 years across 3 business segments in industry. In addition she has 8 years’ experience as a management consultant with a ‘Big Four’ firm, focusing on corporate and business strategy development and finance transformation engagements in the UK, US, Singapore and the Caribbean.

FarmLinkr is an online marketplace for the buying and selling of farm produce both locally and internationally in developing economies. They also supply fresh farm produce directly to other businesses via contract farming, working with a special network of farmers. The company adds value to corporate buyers by delivering fresh produce with a consistent quality, quantity and price.
www.farmlinkr.com

Lesli is a former Fintech Chief Operating Officer with Delta Capital Partners, leading the company’s digital payments strategy, and banker working in various managerial positions with Scotiabank. During her twelve (12) years with the bank, she worked extensively with diverse teams in Toronto, and the English & Spanish Caribbean, leading strategic initiatives in Digital Transformation, Transaction Migration, Customer Experience Delivery, Electronic Banking Channels and Sales & Service Delivery.

In addition, she spent six (6) years before joining the bank in the financial services industry.

While working with Grace Kennedy Remittance Services, within their Western Union, Bill Express and FX Trader business lines, she managed Retail Distribution, Agency Relationships, Business Development, Customer Service and Operations.

She earned her MSc. in Human Resource Management from Nova South Eastern University, Wayne Huizenga School of Business, BA in Spanish from the University of the West Indies and serves on the board for the Jamaica Triathlon Association and the Pan American Triathlon Confederation (PATCO) Women in Sports Committee.

Cornerstone Trust & Merchant Bank Limited was incorporated in 1969 as Solnar Limited with its activities geared to providing deposit-taking, lending and leasing facilities to clients of a leading law fi rm. In 1992 the shareholders decided to position the company as a full-fl edged merchant bank to take advantage of an expanding fi nancial services market. MF&G Trust & Finance became the new name, highlighting strong and enviable ties with its parent law fi rm. This allowed the company to emerge as a separate entity with its own reputation in the fi nancial marketplace. The Company’s assets, which were then less than JMD 200 million, have since increased to over JMD 6 billion currently. The Bank became an approved foreign exchange dealer in 1997 and has since garnered significant foreign currency deposits, loans and leases. In 2016, 80% of its shares were acquired by CUHJ with the remaining 20% being acquired in 2019.