Student Entrepreneurs are expressing gratitude and praise for the market access provided by the Mona Food Village at the ongoing University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona’s 2026 Orientation programme.
Running from August 20 to 21, the event aims to create a food, entrepreneurship and campus-discovery experience for incoming students.
Founder of catering business, Shanz Street Vybz Café, Shanile Thompson, said being included in the food village is a great opportunity to showcase her business.
“With this opportunity, I’ll be able to reach new customers, build connections and gain valuable exposure within the UWI community. So, I’m really grateful for this opportunity. I honestly believe that the Mona Food Village really is a big thing,” she said.
Ms. Thompson, who was speaking in a recent JIS News interview, owns and operates the Café, works a nine-to-five job, is a third-year student at the UWI and is a mother of two.
“I started [my business] as a way to turn my passion for cooking into a business while earning an income and pursuing my studies. We are a registered business and what we do is pop-ups at various events. I was at Animecom for Saturday and Sunday both days. I’m currently at Summit Food Village on a Thursday and on a Friday. We do big events like JA Food and Drink, Kingston Kitchen, so just pop-ups really,” she said.
Meanwhile, Founding Director of Mona Food Village, Jabari Robinson, said the event is crucial to promoting entrepreneurship at UWI.
He noted that over the past 10 years, more university students wanted to become entrepreneurs.
“Everybody wants to become an entrepreneur; everybody wants to own their own business. But, unfortunately, there’s this big gap between actually starting the business, having the market to actually sell. So, what we’re trying to do is build Mona Food Village within a wider organisation that has a strong entrepreneurship focus. So, Mona Food Village is just one of the first arms, one of the first main vehicles in which we’re trying to generate those commercial opportunities for students on campus,” he said.
For more information, persons can visit @monafoodvillage on Instagram.
