Sygnus marks decade with foundation launch and $16m school rebuild

Investment firm Sygnus has marked its 10th anniversary by launching the Sygnus Foundation and completing a $16-million roof restoration at Barbary Hall Primary and Infant School in St Elizabeth. 

The project restored the school’s roof, allowing students to return to classrooms disrupted by Hurricane Melissa. Staff from Sygnus also repainted the playground, part of a wider attempt to revive the school environment and restore a sense of normality. 

The ceremony brought together senior figures from business and government, including Berisford Grey, Sygnus’s founder and chief executive officer; Floyd Green, minister of agriculture, fisheries and mining and parliamentary representative for St Elizabeth South Western; Elizabeth James, the firm’s head of wealth and client strategy; and Danielle Drummond of the National Education Trust, alongside members of the Sygnus team.

The initiative has drawn support from a range of partners, among them Bahamas Striping Company and CrossBoundary, reflecting a mix of local, regional and international backing. The emphasis, Sygnus says, is on strengthening community resilience in the face of increasingly costly natural disasters.

The launch of the foundation signals a more formal approach to corporate philanthropy, embedding such efforts in a dedicated platform.

“As we celebrate 10 years of Sygnus, we are proud to formally launch the Sygnus Foundation, an initiative that reflects the values that have guided our journey from the beginning: partnership, purpose and nation-building. Following Hurricane Melissa, we committed not only to helping communities recover but to supporting their long-term rebuilding and resilience. Today, as we stand at Barbary Hall Primary and Infant School and see students once again learning in restored classrooms, we are witnessing the fulfilment of that promise. This marks not just a milestone for Sygnus, but the beginning of a deeper and more structured approach to social impact across Jamaica.”

Green welcomed the effort, praising both the scale of the contribution and its focus on education. "Firstly, let me commend Sygnus. I want to thank the company for their strong corporate social responsibility and for stepping forward at such a critical time to help our communities and to help our children," he said.

"I can't think of a better way to mark 10 years of innovation, 10 years of creativity and 10 years of growth than to contribute to a fine educational institution like Barbary Hall. I think this is a brilliant way to start the work of your foundation. It already signals what you are about: driving development, driving growth, helping rural communities to do well, and also stepping forward in times of crisis, to ensure that the government, community and private sector can work together to shorten the time that we take to recover from these disastrous affairs. Schools are the heartbeat of rural communities, and the outcomes of our children are really based on the strength of the educational institution. Barbary Hall has trained some of the best and brightest across the world. So you are allowing some of the best and brightest to flourish."

Acting Principal Mariann Chambers-Smith said pupils had only recently returned to their classrooms for the first time since the hurricane.

"It is with deep gratitude and a sense of renewed hope that we, the Barbary Hall Primary and Infant School, extend heartfelt thanks to the Sygnus Foundation for their generous support in re-roofing our primary department. Of course, our children this week were privileged to go into their classrooms for the first time after Hurricane Melissa. Because of your support and partnership, our students and teachers now have a place of safety and security, and teaching and learning can continue. You have not only repaired our roof, but you have also helped us to rebuild our confidence and a sense of stability within our school community. Your contribution will have a lasting impact on this institution."