THE Supreme Ventures Foundation (SVF) has announced the return of its flagship social enterprise programme Supreme Heroes.

The operator of Jenny’s Corner Shop has a dual role. Not only is she an apt storekeeper, she is also regarded as the ‘community mom’. It is a role the mother of six takes seriously. Having raised her children as a single parent, she is intimately aware of the struggles families within her community face.

The capacity building initiative recognises and supports micro businesses that also support the social sustainability of their communities.

Four small businesses doing impactful community work with their limited resources have been named as part of the newest group of ‘Supreme Heroes’.

Among the four shortlisted businesses are a shopkeeper in rural St Andrew who uses the proceeds from her shop to host back to school treats as well as a seamstress in Western Jamaica who offers adult literacy classes to persons in the community.

SVF Director Heather Goldson expressed her pride in the return of the programme and a new cohort of participants.

“We were very pleased with the first cohort of ‘heroes’ and very proud of the results of the programme. Being able to build on this program and welcome a second cohort of diverse local unsung heroes is very gratifying.

“Persons were engaged and interested in nominating members of their community and our judges have shortlisted a really wonderful group of persons to vie for the tile of Ultimate Supreme Hero,” said Goldson.

This second cohort of Supreme Heroes are Kerr’s Decor n More operated by Andrea Kerr-Finakin and Bamboo Fever Restaurant operated by Emeelia McCallum both based in Mount Salem, St James, as well as FarmerDex Wholesale operated by Aneisha Miller and Jamaica Bike Life run by Matthew Prendergast both located in St Andrew.

The project is being facilitated through Changemakers Limited, which has done considerable background research to validate the new cohort, working closely with the Mona Entrepreneurial and Commercialisation Centre, which will conduct the retooling training course that the new ‘heroes’ will participate in.

“A key component of the Supreme Heroes programme is to strengthen the business capacity in addition to providing them with grant funding that will take their social interventions to the next level.

“Our partnerships with Changemakers and the Mona Entrepreneurial and Commercialization Centre allow us to provide training and coaching across a number of basic business disciplines from finance and marketing to leadership,” Goldson shared.

At the end of the programme each participant should be registered as both a business and a charitable organisation, if applicable, and will have a unique five-year business plan inclusive of a comprehensive financial plan which will be a road map to sustainability.

Participants will also have a better working knowledge of basic business practices. Their community projects will also have expanded their benefits to lucky beneficiaries in their communities.

Last year Jennifer “Miss Jenny” Brown could barely find the words to express her jubilation after emerging as the winner of the SVF Supreme Heroes programme.

Brown operates Miss Jenny’s Corner Shop in Flanker, St James, which she established in 2013.