Expertise & Services

SME & Private Sector Development

Through formal and informal training, mentoring and capacity building, Jessie works with small and medium-sized enterprises and private sector firms in the tourism, handcraft and cultural industries sectors to support their growth and business expansion. She has worked with entrepreneurs, businesses, cooperatives and community based enterprises in feasibility assessments, investment, business planning, demand analysis, market research, marketing plans, financial and operational management systems, inventory management, and risk assessment.  

Tourism Product Development

Jessie has specific expertise in tourism product development for communities, destinations and individuals including strategy creation, destination development and hands-on support to communities. She has worked with communities in product identification, feasibility assessment and participatory business planning. Through long-term projects, she has partnered with communities to support infrastructure development, skills development, training, sales and marketing, and financial and operational management. 

Capacity Building

In addition to working directly with enterprises, Jessie partners with public sector organizations and civil society groups (associations, NGOs, charitable trusts) in the tourism, handcraft and cultural industries sectors to provide capacity building support. Jessie's approach to capacity building is to form relationships with stakeholders to foster trust, open communication and joint problem solving. 

Marketing

Jessie creates marketing plans and strategies for enterprises and tourism destinations to support business growth and economic development. In the tourism sector, Jessie has a specific expertise in package tourist and FIT markets for new destinations. In the handcraft and cultural industries sectors, Jessie's expertise lies in tourism, diaspora and export marketing. She develops and implements marketing strategies including creating marketing materials, branding, developing websites, leveraging social media, direct marketing and participating in trade shows. Jessie also provides marketing training in branding, customer service, retail store management, display tactics and packaging.                                                                          

Feasibility Studies, Assessments & Value Chain Analysis

Jessie conducts feasibility studies, assessments and value chain analyses for tourism, handcraft and cultural industries sectors. She has created tested research methodologies for collecting critical information and data from literature reviews, focus groups, interviews, participatory planning, and observations. Jessie's flexibility allows her to work with a range of stakeholders from community groups to ministers to gather research and better understand the situation. 

Strategy Development 

Based on information and data gathered through assessments, Jessie works with partners and stakeholders to create strategies for sector development in tourism, handcraft and cultural industries. Jessie's key tactic is to work in a participatory manner which increases ownership and buy-in from those ultimately responsible for implementing the final plans. 

Project Design

Jessie designs economic growth and conservation projects for tourism, handcraft and cultural industries sectors at local, national and regional levels. She has a firm grasp on the challenges of project implementation and takes this into consideration when designing new initiatives. She is experienced in writing proposals, budgeting, logical frameworks, work plans and other supporting documents. 

Project Management

Jessie has experience in project management for USAID, the European Union, ACP Secretariat, World Bank, Ford Foundation, and other private donors. She has a solid understanding of the complexities and requirements of implementing donor-funded projects including budget management, narrative and financial reporting, visibility, and monitoring and evaluation.