Persons in the diaspora may now shop for loved ones in Jamaica with the click of a button as the newly formed Jamaican-owned digital shopping platform, Grocery List, based in South Florida, brings grocery shopping closer to home.

GroceryList connects to 150 local stores in Jamaica, and allows persons to order grocery items from stores in Jamaica and have them delivered to doorsteps locally within minutes of placing an order. The platform covers all 14 parishes in Jamaica.

In addition to the over 150 local stores, there are some 500 persons in Jamaica who do the shopping and delivery.

Co-founder, Jermain Morgan says that he and his business partner were inspired to create the grocery shopping platform to deliver groceries in Jamaica when his business partner’s mother fell ill and was unable to physically go to the grocery store to make her purchases.

“Now you don’t have to send money to loved ones in Jamaica for them to do grocery shopping.

By going to GroceryList you can place your order and our network of shoppers will make the purchases and deliver them to the recipients,” said Morgan.

To this end, GroceryList is not only connecting grocery shopping in Jamaica with the diaspora but is also providing employment for Jamaicans in Jamaica, he said.

“We designed GroceryList Jamaica to help ease the economic burden on Jamaican households as well as to empower Jamaicans to earn through creating an additional income stream,” said Rory Richards, chief executive officer. A Jamaican who lives in South Florida, Richards explains that GroceryList Jamaica has been a labour of love.

“The idea was birthed after struggling to find a way to get the best food to my mother in Jamaica while she was ill instead of sending money.

Through that experience, I realized Jamaica needed GroceryList Ja. That’s when we decided to create this platform.

We live and work in the USA, so we know first-hand how the Jamaican diaspora helps their

families back home. We also know the importance of the gig economy in providing supplemental income for individuals while building our country’s GDP.

GroceryList Ja allows us to solve both problems. It’s a new and exciting platform that was created for Jamaicans by Jamaicans,” he added.

The GroceryList Jamaica platform has completely digitised the end-to-end grocery operation and is set to revolutionise online grocery shopping throughout Jamaica and the diaspora. The platform powers e-commerce and fulfilment experiences for several retailers across Jamaica.

Jamaica’s consul general to the Southern USA, Oliver Mair, lauded the concept and praised the innovation of the two young entrepreneurs. “Welcome GroceryList Jamaica! We are so happy to support young entrepreneurial dreams helping them become a reality. We are also excited about the prospects of more Jamaican jobs as the demand for local goods and services continues to grow” he added.

As for growth prospects for the GroceryList Ja team, Richards plans to also use the platform as a philanthropic tool to address food security and poverty alleviation throughout Jamaica by working with its global partners to get food into the hands of Jamaicans who need it most.

Persons may visit the platform at www.grocerylistjamaica.com or download the app from the IOS and Google Play Store.