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BlackSlate Holdings Group

Welcome to BlackSlate, we are a privately owned Jamaican registered holding company for a diverse group of companies and investments operating in the USA and across the Caribbean. Our primary aim is to provide our select group of shareholders with safe and consistent returns on their investments through a diversified portfolio of regional and international investments.

The BlackSlate Holdings Group Limited seeks to hold and manage investments in wholly owned subsidiaries and investments in real estate, patents, trademarks, stocks and other tradable assets.

BlackSlate also offers a range of centralized corporate services including policy direction and management services.

1. Our Focus:
Our focus is identifying and securing private equity positions in small and medium sized companies which have a strong business model and potential for growth.

Corporate Support
BlackSlate supports all links of our investments and businesses under one holding company, spearheaded by investments, community development and outreach.

2. Investment Profile
BlackSlate’s investments streamline between technology, real estate and travel experiences

Foundation:
The Walkbout Foundation – Encouraging Travel As A Way Of Developing Human Capacity And Experiences.

The Walkbout Foundation in addition to its support of Environmental Activities encourages travel as a way of developing human capacity and experiences. As such each year we will sponsor and support individuals under the age of 25, to take trips to destinations around the world. This is funded through a percentage of our net revenues each year, allowing young adults to enjoy diverse cultures, food, and beverages on an international stage.

Derek Luk Pat in conversation with Aldo Antonio Executive Chairman RedPlate Group on the disruption they are bringing to the Public Transportation sector in Jamaica – Regional Innovators

Derek Luk Pat, Corporate Strategist, Business Re-Engineer and Circular Economy Advocate has a conversation with Aldo Antonio Executive Chairman RedPlate Group on the disruption they are bringing to the Public Transportation sector in Jamaica. This was done as part of the Regional Innovators Segment for the recently held Caribbean Strategy Conference hosted by Framework Consulting Jamaica Ltd.

Why and How We Started RedPlate

The idea behind RedPlate was hatched somewhere around 2004, over 16 years ago, in an attempt to exploit the wealth of information and insight Jamaican taxi drivers had about the city of Kingston and St. Andrew. They by far knew more about the city than anyone else. So the idea for RedPlate Magazine “Nobody Knows the city better” was hatched. We started to engage the various taxi companies in a strategic partnership to get the magazine distributed freely within their fleet of taxi cabs and to tap into the information of the drivers for content.

As the discussions progressed at a very slow pace, we quickly realised that there were much bigger problems and issues facing the Taxi drivers, the companies they represented, and more importantly the general public, who relied on them on a daily basis to move around. The reputation of Taxis and more specifically the route taxi was really bad, and their attempts to secure much-needed increases in fares from the Government were met with political resistance. The Government could not face the public with an increase without a marked improvement in services and reputation of the taxi system.

As we looked further at the sector we realised that a more lucrative opportunity was emerging that if approached right, would solve much of the problems in the system for the Taxi drivers, the companies they represented, and more importantly the general public.

On the business opportunity side, the Taxi business generated a vast amount of cash each day and was ripe for disruption using available and emerging technology. This was way before Uber, Lyft, and all the rest, so there was no web application or anything like that at the time.

Faced with very limited financial resources and an investment market that would not even consider investing in such a venture, things started to slow down, as more pressing and existing business opportunities required our attention. But we kept the project on the table and kept fine-tuning the model as emerging disruptive technology came on the market led by Uber.

This was the game-changer for us.

The project was now put on the proverbial front burner, as we sought to emulate the Uber business model. We went back to the main players in the sector and met with varying levels of interest. But we kept pushing.

It was about two years ago (2018) we realised that we were only looking at the proverbial tip of the iceberg and that there was a much bigger opportunity to be pursued. Why focus on moving people when you can use the same platform to move goods and cargo around the country. It was some months after this we read that Uber was also moving in this direction. We were very encouraged by this development.

And so The RedPlate Company was formed.

Another major event further refined the business model and would now lead to a major realignment and expansion of the vision of the business… COVID19.

COVID19 caught thousands of retailers and merchants flatfooted, they were not ready for online shopping and delivery. With shutdowns and curfews, business nosedived, as the entire retail and distribution sector was pulled apart.

We quickly identified and formed four (4) key features of the current opportunity and what would be required to capitalise on it.

  1. There is no reason why, Consumers, Local Brick and Mortar Retailers, and MSME business operators cannot compete and offer home and office delivery services in Jamaica.
  2. Farmers, brick-and-mortar retailers, and MSME business operators must however invest in technology to take the in-store experience to the digital age.
  3. Consumers are increasingly looking for “Quick Pickup and Delivery” options as they seek to maximise personal time and expenses while avoiding crowded space occasioned by the Covid 19 pandemic.
  4. Due to much lower costs of acquisition of motor vehicles and cycles, more Jamaicans are seeking ways and means of converting them into income-generating opportunities.

The Business Opportunity Was Simple – Digitize All Available Space And Capacity In Every Vehicle On The Road

  • Provide the general public with a more modern safer and predictably means of public transportation.
  • Provide taxi drivers with a more structured and professional business operation to allow for more stable and predictable higher income streams.
  • Setup an islandwide on-demand delivery infrastructure that all retailers and merchants, online or offline, could use for delivery even if they had no eCommerce presence. This would now provide Farmers, Brick and Mortar Retailers, and MSME business operators with an opportunity to compete and offer home and office delivery services across Jamaica.
  • Provide consumers with “Quick Pickup and Delivery” options as they seek to maximise personal time and expenses while avoiding crowded space occasioned by the Covid 19 pandemic.

We are now living and writing the next chapter… stay tuned………… RedPlate is “On The Move”

Aldo Antonio, Co Founder & Group President and CEO The RedPlate Group & Executive Chairman, RedPlate Technologies Jamaica Limited.

JUTA Kingston Partners With RedPlate, Makes Bold Move In Local Transportation Tech Sector

President of the Jamaica Union of Travellers Association Kingston Chapter Noel Williams points to a Toyota Coaster bus that will be used for the Coaster Premium Service.(Photo: Josimar Scott)

JUTA’s transportation solution

HAVING been in operation for almost 50 years, the Kingston chapter of the Jamaica Union of Travellers Association (JUTA) will be leveraging its brand and expertise in the transportation sector to offer a new service to both locals and visitors.

The transportation association has entered into a partnership with technology outfit RedPlate and plans to launch Coaster Premium Service in the first half of this year.

President of the JUTA Kingston Chapter Noel Williams told the Jamaica Observer recently that in its initial stage the service will comprise two routes along Jamaica’s north and south coasts. The first will be from Kingston to Montego Bay, St James, via the north-south highway, while the other will begin in Kingston and end in Negril, Westmoreland, with stops in Mandeville, Manchester, and Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth.

The company plans to simultaneously offer a same-day pickup courier service as part of Coaster Premium Service.

“We have worked out all the logistics and we would have set our agenda in terms of the cost that we will [offer],” he said, adding that both JUTA and RedPlate has done research and finalised on a “middle market price”.

“We are going to make the fare affordable,” Williams said, drawing comparison with larger luxury transport providers in the market.

However, he said the service will provide customers with wireless Internet connectivity, water, a snack and newspaper.

“We are not talking about direct competition,” Williams shared with the Business Observer, while outlining that Coaster Premium Service will offer more drop off and pick up stops than luxury buses and less frequent than public passenger vehicles.

He added that both JUTA and RedPlate are finalising arrangements with gas stations and shopping centres to serve as stops along the routes.

When asked about why the company will begin offering services between Kingston and Montego Bay, the JUTA Kingston president pointed out that “it’s a more viable route and persons will use the facility…We have done our research.”

Furthermore, he said that both locals and visitors travel between the two points to access the country’s main airports.

In addition to providing passengers with comfort, Williams is also adamant about assuring customers of JUTA’s safety standards. He reasoned that because JUTA is known internationally, including providing transportation services to tourists and to world-renowned events in Jamaica, the company had a reputation to maintain.

“Our accident rate is less than one per cent,” he boasted.

With this in mind, Williams pointed out the association employs contractual or third-party drivers on its roster.

Instead, full-time employees must earn Team Jamaica Tour Operator/Tour Guide certifications from the Tourism Product Development Company.

“We will not be short on having professional drivers…because for you to become a driver in the system here, there is a requirement,” Williams revealed.

“You have to get a report from the police to indicate if you have any outstanding traffic tickets” or a history as a traffic offender, he continued.

For customers wishing to use Coaster Premium Service, they can book their rides using the RedPlate app and board the bus at JUTA Kingston’s property on Lady Musgrave Road or any of the stop between Kingston and Montego or between Kingston and Negril. In Montego Bay, the service will have one of two boarding points — at the Sangster International Airport or the JUTA Montego Bay office.

Both drivers and customers will have access to the RedPlate app to track the drop offs and pickups.

With the roll-out of this new service, Williams anticipates that the association will need an additional 10 to 15 new buses once demand begins to pick up. However, at the moment he said that JUTA Kingston has some new buses in its fleet that were never used before the pandemic and barely used.

The association is now in the process of securing a “contract licence” from the Transport Authority that will allow it to carry both passengers and cargo.

“RedPlate came along and put something on the table that we are comfortable with and we think it was a good idea in terms of a solution for and we think that was something we could work with, hence we decided we would go ahead and work with them,” the JUTA Kingston president stated.

Though tightlipped on how much capital JUTA will need to launch Coaster Premium Service, he said the new service will add to the association’s revenue streams and extend to its drivers.

Even as JUTA Kingston fared better than its Montego Bay counterpart, Williams lamented that the association has lost 80 per cent of revenues from hotel shuttles during the pandemic.

BY JOSIMAR SCOTT
Senior reporter
josimars@jamaicaobserver.com

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-report/juta-s-transportation-solution-partners-with-redplate-to-launch-coaster-premium-service_245280?profile=1056

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