Jose Marti to honour Torpedo’s Rohan D. Silvera

July 27, 2023 | Vision Newspaper |

On Saturday, at 7:30 p.m. at the Jose Marti Technical High School, businessman Rohan Silvera will be recognised by his alma mater there.

Known to many through his company, Torpedo Loan, he will be in the spotlight for his Outstanding Contributions to Business and Commerce in Jamaica as well as for his many philanthropic partnerships with the school through sponsorships and support of any outreach being done there.

As Silvera gets ready to be recognised, he does so with a heart of gratitude and praise to the Almighty as he opens up and shares a private part of his life.

In 2018, he was diagnosed with cancer, and it took a lot of mental preparation to deal with it. He will be the first to state that had it not been for God’s goodness, the results could have been different.

But no one knew, as whenever he landed in Jamaica following treatment overseas, he would go straight to a business meeting.

“I was adamant that no disease would have any power over me… I know with God on my side, I would be more than a conqueror,” were Silvera’s resolute words.

It is this kind of mindset that sees him applying the same principles to his business. Most loan companies are looked upon with dread, as many see them as ‘sharks’. Not Torpedo.

“What sets us apart is that we are the most approachable microloan company in Jamaica; by this, we mean that whether you are selling in the market or trying to start a business but have no guarantees, you are still eligible to borrow from us. In fact, we were among the first to say, “No collateral or guarantor is required when borrowing, and we have stayed true to that ever since,” he explained.

That should not be surprising, as Silvera knows all about struggles himself, having emerged from humble beginnings. Growing up on St. John’s Road, he remembers playing in the streets and watching his mom run her business, which was a shop in the community; this can be easily pointed out as his first encounter with discovering his passion for business.

Even though his community was deemed volatile and his family was among the poorer classes, Rohan was adamant that he would not be a negative by-product of his society. He was fully convinced of a greater purpose and that he could change the narrative of his family and community and, by extension, become the catalyst that would impact generations to come. He started out working a regular 9-5 but soon confirmed that his true passion and calling was indeed entrepreneurship.

From selling furniture in downtown Kingston to representational politics, Silvera steers Torpedo Loan Microfinance, which is currently Jamaica’s largest microloan company with over 40 locations and assists individuals to propel their lives forward with the ease of access to credit.

Through the Torpedo Loan Foundation, multiple schools and churches have been funded to be better equipped to execute their functions, which extensively impacts the lives of several individuals in different communities.

SOURCE The PR Agency