Minister of Energy, Mining and Telecommunications, Clive Mullings is urging greater participation by individuals and organizations in joint venture projects locally, particularly in the area of information technology (IT).

The Minister, who was addressing a panel discussion hosted by the Technology Innovation Centre (TIC) of the University of Technology (UTech) in Kingston on Wednesday, February 13, said many opportunities abound in the sector, and several international organizations with the requisite capital, were seeking joint venture partners.

He called on young people and IT sector stakeholders, to explore and capitalize on these possibilities, noting "that there are venture capitalists, who are trying to find an area to invest in Jamaica, and (are trying) to find a local player to be a part of that."

"In essence, all I'm simply saying is this, we must believe in our possibilities. We must stop just looking at success stories and wishing. We must stop sitting down and saying 'wow, look at a Bill Gates'. We must become the Bill Gates of the world and we can do that because other countries are doing it," Mr. Mullings stated.

He said that sector interests were "on the edge of something great", asserting that it is the entrepreneurs and innovators, who would be the driving force behind positioning Jamaica as a premier location for investments and joint venture projects, particularly in IT.

"It is your brain power that is going to make the change and if there's one thing that I believe is going to position Jamaica and our people as first world, it is ICT that is going to give us that connectivity to interface with the world so that they can see our real talents," the Minister stated.