Our Seven Divisions
What We Do
From physical goods to digital intelligence — ARINA operates across industries to create sustainable wealth for partners and communities.
Featured Division
JetShop24 combines a grocery-retail franchise brand with Shared Support Center services designed to strengthen inventory control, bookkeeping, purchasing, staff development, marketing and management performance.
Publications
Four published titles by J. R. Arinwood and James Roberts — poetry, literary fiction, and business memoir.
Investors & Partners
Actively seeking capital partners, distributors & strategic allies across all seven divisions.
Division 01
Premium health supplements from the United States, with planned small-scale manufacturing for the African market. Quality, compliance, and impact at every stage.
What We Make
Whether you're a retailer, distributor, or investor — ARINA's manufacturing division offers compelling partnership opportunities with strong margins and a growing product line.
Get in touch to discuss distribution, retail, or investment opportunities.
Division 02
Exporting premium US agricultural products to global markets, backed by comprehensive trade compliance services.
Export Products
Compliance Services
End-to-end trade compliance support — ensuring your business operates safely and legally across all international jurisdictions.
Division 03
Commercial real estate investment in West Africa, focused on multi-family residential units in high-demand urban markets. Actively seeking investor capital.
The Opportunity
ARINA is actively seeking capital partners to co-invest in West African commercial real estate. Whether you're an institutional investor, family office, or high-net-worth individual — we want to talk.
Division 04
ARINA builds custom AI tools, automates complex workflows, and delivers full corporate operational overhauls. Experience the capability live below.
What We Build
Live AI Demo
Live demonstration of the kind of AI assistant ARINA builds for clients. Ask anything about AI for business — or try a suggested prompt.
Free, no-obligation consultation. An honest assessment and a clear path forward.
Division 05
Four published titles spanning poetry, literary fiction, and business memoir — written as J. R. Arinwood and James Roberts. A fifth work is in development.
Published Works
A quiet, character-driven novel about the private truths people carry and the emotional cost of keeping them hidden. Set within the rhythms of ordinary life, the story explores how secrets — kept for protection, loyalty, or survival — can shape relationships long before they are ever revealed. Rather than focusing on spectacle, the novel centres on consequence: the slow accumulation of what is left unsaid.
A literary novel about community, conscience, and the power of noticing what moves above the noise of modern life. Both intimate and expansive, this story reminds us that change does not always arrive with force. Sometimes, it simply glides into view — and waits for us to see it.
A powerful memoir inside the hidden realities of multinational corporate banking — from restarting at analyst level to delivering mission-critical banking platforms across multiple African markets. James Roberts chronicles a career built on competence, integrity, and relentless delivery. Yet behind professional success lay personal cost — exhaustion, quiet compromises, and the gradual erosion of peace.
A collection of reflective poems on life, responsibility, joy, family, and belonging. Written in clear, accessible language, these poems explore everyday human experiences — from leadership and loss to celebration, childhood, and love — without offering easy conclusions. Intended for readers who enjoy thoughtful writing that invites reflection rather than instruction.
The next work is currently in development. Subject: launching a Grocery Stores Franchise — and what entrepreneurship really looks like from the inside.
We welcome press enquiries, author event bookings, and retail partnerships.
Division 06
40+ years of real-world delivery expertise across banking, healthcare, international development, and business transformation — across Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
Sectors
Deep, lived expertise across four high-stakes sectors — not studied, but delivered under real pressure at scale.
Our Services
Initial consultations are obligation-free. Tell us your challenge.
Division 07 — Retail & Franchise Solutions
JetShop24 is a grocery-retail and franchise business developed from operating experience in The Gambia. Its Shared Support Center provides the systems, expertise and coordinated support that individual grocery operators often find difficult or expensive to maintain alone.
Current operating base: The Gambia. Franchise availability, service scope and fees remain subject to assessment and the applicable signed agreement.
The JetShop24 Story
JetShop24 began as a company-owned grocery outlet in The Gambia. Five years of direct retail operation shaped the systems, controls and practical support model later formalized through the Shared Support Center.
Two Ways to Work with Us
The full franchise is designed for qualified investors who want the JetShop24 brand and complete operating system. Independent operators may retain their own name and purchase selected SSC services under a separate commercial agreement.
For investors seeking a structured grocery business with a recognized operating identity and continuing SSC support.
For existing or planned grocery stores that want practical support without becoming a JetShop24 franchise.
The Shared Support Center
The SSC strengthens store owners with coordinated systems, information and specialist support. It does not replace the owner: the operator remains responsible for daily execution, staff leadership, legal compliance and local performance.
Public Service Catalogue
This summary helps prospective clients identify the appropriate route. Final fees and scope are confirmed only after assessment and through the applicable signed agreement.
| Service title & description | Availability | Indicative fee | Relevant information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Onboarding Package Entry into the JetShop24 system, initial onboarding, core manuals and launch preparation. | Franchise Exclusive | GMD 250,000 one-time | Premises, fit-out, stock, licences and local operating costs are separate. |
| Monthly SSC & Operational Support Core reporting, support coordination and management review. | Franchise Exclusive | 5% of gross sales; minimum GMD 12,500 monthly | Charged under the Franchise Agreement and applicable fee schedule. |
| JetShop24 Brand, Operations Manual & Approved-Site Rights | Franchise Exclusive | Included in franchise structure | Mandatory compliance; rights are limited to the approved agreement and location. |
| Coordinated Purchasing & Network Stock Support | Franchise Exclusive | Included; transaction and logistics costs separate | Subject to supplier availability, network scale and policy. |
| Business & Store Assessment Structured review of operations, records, stock, staffing and priorities. | Available to Both | From GMD 12,500 | Normally the starting point for independent operators. |
| Bookkeeping Setup & Monthly Reporting | Available to Both | GMD 18,000 setup + GMD 7,500 monthly | Can be combined into a managed SSC package. |
| Inventory Control Module Stock records, reorder levels, stock-taking, shrinkage and expiry controls. | Available to Both | GMD 15,000 setup + GMD 6,500 monthly | Recommended for stores requiring stronger stock discipline. |
| Staff Training Workshop | Independent / Optional | GMD 15,000 half-day or GMD 25,000 full-day | Travel, participant numbers and venue assumptions are confirmed in the proposal. |
| Operational Audit / Compliance Visit | Independent / Optional | From GMD 9,000 per visit | Includes findings and corrective-action guidance. |
| Managed SSC Partnership Tailored ongoing combination of selected back-office and management services. | Independent / Optional | From GMD 20,000 monthly | Scope is defined in a separate commercial services agreement. |
Why the SSC Matters
Engagement Pathways
The two routes have different legal and commercial structures, but both begin with a clear assessment of the owner, store and operating objectives.
Knowledge & Downloads
The book The Benefits of Owning a Grocery Store Franchise explains the systems, disciplines and Shared Support Center structure that informed the development of the JetShop24 model. The campaign catalogues below present the public service routes and indicative pricing.
Restricted documents—including the signed Franchise Agreement, Operations Manual, internal calculations, supplier agreements and franchisee records—are not published on the public website.
Frequently Asked Questions
JetShop24 is a grocery-retail and franchise business developed from company-owned operating experience in The Gambia. The original outlet moved into private ownership as a franchised branch in 2023 and continues operating.
The SSC is the coordinated support structure that provides agreed systems and specialist services such as inventory control, reporting, purchasing, training, marketing and operational review.
No. Independent operators may purchase selected modules while retaining their own name and ownership. Brand use, territory, the complete Operations Manual and network rights are reserved for franchise clients.
JetShop24 brand use, approved territory or location rights, the complete business system, mandatory Operations Manual, continuing franchise administration, core network purchasing and full brand-compliance support are franchise-exclusive.
No. Results depend on location, investment, execution, market conditions and management. The SSC may provide systems, reporting and financing-application support, but does not guarantee profitability or lender approval.
Final fees are confirmed after assessment and documented in the Franchise Agreement, commercial services agreement or written proposal. Indicative figures on this page are for campaign guidance only.
Start the Conversation
Apply for a JetShop24 franchise, request an independent-operator SSC assessment, or discuss partnership and investment opportunities.
This page is commercial information only. It is not, by itself, a franchise offer, licence, guarantee of results or legal opinion. Rights and obligations arise only under the applicable signed agreement and local law.
Our Story
From a medical laboratory in West Africa to the corridors of Standard Chartered Bank, the United Nations, and ultimately Orange, California — James Roberts has spent four decades turning expertise into enterprise.
ARINA exists because I wanted one organisation through which I could expand and express everything I have learned — in academia, in industry, and in life.
James Roberts — Founder, ARINA LLC
The Founder
James Roberts is not a man who arrived at entrepreneurship by accident. His career began in the discipline of science — as a qualified Medical Laboratory Scientist, he spent a decade working in pathology, developing a rigorous, evidence-based approach to problem-solving that would define everything that followed.
The pivot came from curiosity. He pursued an Honours degree in Computer Science and Economics at the University of Buckingham, UK — graduating in 1989 — and stepped into banking with the precision of a scientist and the instincts of an economist.
What followed was a rapid ascent. From Systems Analyst to Head of IT at an international bank, then to Regional Head of Business Technology for Standard Chartered Bank Group, West Africa — eleven years at the intersection of enterprise technology and financial services, delivering mission-critical systems across Africa's most demanding markets.
He then moved into independent consulting, securing a seven-year engagement with the United Nations (2010–2017), adding a Master's in Project Management and a Master's in Health Informatics along the way.
Arriving in the United States in 2023, Roberts founded ARINA LLC — not as a pivot, but as a culmination. Every division reflects a chapter of his life. Every service is backed by experience, not theory.
Career Journey
Academic Qualifications
Why ARINA
ARINA is not a startup founded on theory. Every service, every product, every division is backed by decades of lived expertise across science, technology, finance, and international development.
When you partner with ARINA, you are not engaging a company — you are accessing a career's worth of hard-won knowledge deployed on your behalf.
Let's talk about what ARINA can deliver for your business, investment, or project.
Get In Touch
Select your inquiry type below — each form is tailored so we can respond immediately with the right information.
Contact ARINA
Choose the category that best fits your reason for reaching out.
Not sure which division fits? Send us a message and we'll route you to the right team.
ARINA is actively seeking capital partners for commercial multi-family residential units in high-demand West African urban markets.
40+ years of real delivery experience. Tell us about your project.
Custom AI tools, process automation, and full operational overhauls. Whether exploring or ready to build — start here.
Buyers, distributors, or manufacturing partners — tell us what you need.
Choose the full franchise route, request selected SSC services for an independent store, or discuss partnership and investment.
Media, bulk orders, speaking events, or to be notified of the 5th title — use this form.
Real Estate Investors
Sub-Saharan Africa's urban population is projected to double by 2050. West Africa faces a structural housing deficit in the millions of units. ARINA is positioned to capture that opportunity for our investors.