Portland has a way of holding you still. Between the misty slopes of the Blue Mountains, the parish is often described as untouched, almost shy in its beauty. For many, it is a place to escape, to raft the Rio Grande, taste jerk at Boston, or soak away in the cool waters of Somerset Falls. But for some, Portland is a space where business flows free.
One of those charting a course is Davin Hall, founder of Hall’s Auto Restoration and Parts Hub. A certified auto body and spray-painting technician, he spent years working in Kingston, but home was always calling. Now, he is laying the foundation for a business in Portland, offering spray painting, bodywork, and eventually full vehicle servicing and parts.
Still, passion alone does not build a business. Davin admits he needed structure, guidance, and someone to help him connect the dots. “I wanted to do this business. But I knew that I couldn’t just start. I needed help with managing it and so forth”.
That is where the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) entered the chat. A friend pointed him in the right direction, and soon he was attending consultations, training, and working with business coaches through the JBDC Business Centre located in St. Thomas.
“I’m a business-minded person, but managing a business is different,” Hall shares. Even on the days when self-doubt creeps in, the regular check-ins and mentorship from JBDC keep him focused on the bigger picture, “Basically, the support from JBDC gives me more motivation now than ever. Sometimes, even when I feel like I can’t. But then I get a call from Miss Selena.” Selena Whyte is just one of JBDC’s business coaches impacting business in the parish.
Hall says Portland is overflowing with people like him who are skilled, but don’t know how to turn their skill into a business. He shares words of advice, “Just get guidance from persons that are in the business. Try to find those places where you can go to get guidance. To get, you know, someone to steer towards doing it. Or even persons not in business, but have a business mind. Sometimes, you know, you just [have one little talk with a person]. And say, hey, I’m interested in doing this. You know, I have the skill.”
Tourism too continues to be a magnet, with rafting on the Rio Grande, the jerk heritage of Boston, and high-end villas like Trident and Goblin Hill putting Portland on the global map.
“Tourism is doing good, because there is the Blue Mountain Bicycle Tours where, you know, tourists go and ride bicycle, then enjoy the falls and so forth, you know, and the rafting. And now persons are doing Airbnb,” Hall points out.
The JBDC Business Centre in St. Thomas is servicing Portland’s entrepreneurs who are quietly reshaping the parish across several industries. Agriculture remains a backbone: bananas, coconuts, breadfruit, and even Blue Mountain coffee flow from its fertile soils, with plans for a Spring Garden Agro-park to push crops into new markets.
Couple it with agro-processing, small-scale manufacturing, and festivals like the Boston Jerk Festival, and you begin to see a parish brimming with creative and commercial energy.
Though the physical location is in Morant Bay, St. Thomas, the JBDC’s presence in Portland makes all the difference, bridging the gap between raw talent and business.
Yornelt Smith-Mitchell, Business Development Officer for Portland and St. Thomas, says “Portland is quite a distance from St. Thomas, so a lot of our consultations are done virtually. We have had, clients from Portland travel to St. Thomas to meet with us.”
Entrepreneurs have access to technical guidance, market insights, and hands-on support that help transform ideas into businesses that stand the test of time. With several active clients in Portland, the JBDC also partners with other government institutions like the Company’s Office of Jamaica (COJ) and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) to reach more clients.
“I believe that there are possibilities in Portland,” Yornelt emphasises. So, if you are like Davin Hall, JBDC is just a call away. Call us at 876-516-8158 / 876-436-3925 or walk-in at 49 Queens Street, Morant Bay, St. Thomas. Also, visit www.jbdc.net to see the wide range of services offered by JBDC ‘From Concept to Market’.
