Ocho Rios entrepreneur develops all-in-one business platform

A Jamaican-built platform that aims to give small businesses a single hub for marketing, sales and customer management is gaining traction across the Caribbean and beyond.

SnapTap, an AI-powered business platform developed by Ocho Rios entrepreneur Kingsley Jair Harrison, combines networking, marketing, sales, payment collection and customer management tools in one dashboard.

The platform, which replaces up to nine single-function apps, is already being used by more than 500 business operators across 10 countries, including Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Sint Maarten and the United States.

“You would have heard the story of me leaving my job to purse working in the hotel industry and then getting fired two days later; that was later published in The Gleaner in 2019,” Harrison recalled.

“I believe that was God’s plan because the firing actually pushed me to start my own business, Target Technologies and, for the past nine years, I’ve been juggling multiple apps, multiple software. It is very hectic for us as business professionals to truly grow a business when we have to use so many applications out there. So, that’s how the idea of SnapTap evolved.”

“We want business professionals, when they have an idea, to basically create a SnapTap account and they literally can start generating revenue opportunities right there and then.”

Harrison, a digital distribution strategist, credited team members Sulandi Sutherland and Preteginua Dixon for their contribution to the project.

SnapTap was launched in 2024 as a digital business card, allowing users to share their information through a tap or scan. As demand grew, Harrison expanded the concept into a broader platform aimed at helping entrepreneurs manage multiple aspects of their business from one place.

How it works

“SnapTap brings everything you need to do business into one place,” Harrison explained.

“Whether you’re a realtor, beautician, nail tech, photographer, consultant, coach, fitness professional, event professional, influencer or creative, you can create a SnapTap account and build a professional digital presence for your business. Add your services, contact information, social media, portfolio and other important business details, then share one link across Instagram, Tik Tok, LinkedIn or WhatsApp. When potential customers click, they can discover what you offer, order your products or book your services, save your number straight to their phone, taking the steps toward becoming a customer, all from one place.”

The platform can also generate invoices, collect Google reviews and track customer engagement. Every tap, scan and click is recorded, allowing users to monitor profile traffic and customer activity.

“SnapTap is basically revolutionising the way business professionals do business in a digital setting, because we’re now in the digital world,” Harrison said.

Among its users is Shalton Whyte of Island Dog Watersports in Ocho Rios, who has been using SnapTap for close to two years.

“SnapTap is the best thing money could buy!” Whyte said.

He credits the platform’s NFC, QR code and link-in-bio features with helping him promote his business more effectively.

Whyte is one of more than 500 business operators using the platform across the Caribbean and North America.

Harrison said his work with more than 2,500 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) since 2017 helped shape the development of the platform. His entrepreneurial journey has also earned him places in the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Class of 2026 and Rev Up Caribbean Cohort 7.

“A friend from high school that was in the YLAI programme in 2024, Ryon Whyte, reached out to me and pushed me to apply because he saw that I was building something innovative,” Harrison revealed.

Launched by the US Department of State in 2015, YLAI supports emerging entrepreneurs across the Western Hemisphere. Rev Up Caribbean, meanwhile, is the region’s first virtual incubator, helping entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses and access funding opportunities.

According to Harrison, SnapTap’s mission is rooted in supporting local entrepreneurs.

“The mission is very simple. We’re on a quest to help anybody build what they believe in. Oftentimes its way harder for someone to do that in today’s world with so many international platforms which are not exactly catered to us as locals, but SnapTap is built here in Jamaica for us as Jamaicans and the Caribbean at large and it is here to help us build whatever we believe in. Any dream, any aspiration, any project that you’re working on, the idea is, once you create your SnapTap account it has the capabilities of actually causing you to make money, which actually positively impact communities.”

Business operators are currently using SnapTap free of charge. However, effective January 1, 2027, the platform will introduce monthly subscription fees ranging from US$15 to US$25.

carl.gilchrist@gleanerjm.com