President and CEO of AGT Food & Ingredients, Inc., during a discussion with moderator Mark Jeffries at the Ernst & Young Caribbean Strategic Growth Forum held at the Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall in Montego Bay. Murad Al Khatib (right) talks about his journey as an entrepreneur. Jamaica. (Photo: Karl McLarty)
ST. JAMES, Montego Bay — Having a global mindset is important for Jamaican businesses to grow and succeed, but the decision to expand internationally must be carefully considered.
This is the Ernst & Young (EY) Caribbean Strategic Growth Forum, where Murad Al Khatib, president and CEO of global agribusiness AGT Food & English, speaks to young entrepreneurs. That was the advice I was given.
Al Khatib said Thursday that his entrepreneurial journey has seen Canada-based AGT Food and English grow to operations on five continents and more than C$2 billion in revenue in less than 20 years. He emphasized this point while talking about his journey.
Founded on the philosophy ‘From the producer to the world’, AGT Foods is a global leader in value-added processing of pulses and staple foods, supplying pulse-based ingredients to premium food markets and food companies around the world. A major supplier. According to the company’s website.
“I say to all the entrepreneurs here: ‘The world is open to you. I want you to think.’ You’re sitting here in Jamaica, or [elsewhere] In the Caribbean. You need to think about the local market, think about where you are and try to expand,” Al Khatib said at the Hyatt Awards, which culminated in Saturday’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year Jamaica Awards Ceremony. – Speaking at a four-day forum at Zilara Rose Hall. night.
At the same time, 2017 EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Al Khatib urged local entrepreneurs to be “careful” when expanding globally, urging companies to He emphasized the importance of being careful when choosing a suitable partner.
“Today is a digital world. [but] It’s problematic to think that you can trust someone sitting on the other side of the world, or even four countries away, just because you’re sitting in your office having a WhatsApp or Teams meeting,” Al Khatib said. Ta.
“There is no substitute for face-to-face contact. Make sure you know who you are dealing with,” he continued. “Be careful, because what I’ve seen is entrepreneurs looking to expand, and they get burned too fast.”
Looking back on AGT Foods’ history, he said that risk management is the cornerstone of the company’s management.
“We have always maintained the bill of lading, which ultimately determines the ownership of the goods in that container… We did not release it until payment was received. We manage it all the way to the bank. And that was the way we were able to do it,” Al Khatib said.
Meanwhile, Byron Dixon, CEO and founder of UK-based antimicrobial technology company MicroFresh, who is one of the judges for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Jamaica Awards, said the international He said he was satisfied with his ambition.
“What struck me was how many companies want to be international and are international. When I talk about international from Jamaica, I don’t just mean the Caribbean. Be open. Some companies talked [not only] “They talked not only about America, but also about Europe and Asia. That was a real surprise to me and I was really proud that these companies wanted to promote Jamaican products and services all over the world. ” said Dixon, a British EY entrepreneur and son of Jamaican parents. He said during a panel discussion that he was selected as the top award winner for 2020.
The EY Entrepreneur of the Year Jamaica Award recognizes entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence in innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to business and the community.
A total of 11 companies were nominated for the award across three categories: start-ups, start-ups and family businesses.
The companies represented were Trade Winds Citrus, Lillan Limited, Scotch Boys Jamaica, Bluedot, Esirom, The Infiniti Partnership, Star Apple AI, Tropicks 365, Profit Jumpstarter, Mosa Estate and Honey Bun Limited.
