Government Empowering MSMEs to Unlock Billions in Contracts

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Sancia Bennett Templer, addresses the Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) launch of the Growth and Resilience One-Day Working Conference on Wednesday (June 10) at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston. The conference will take place at the hotel on July 16.

The Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce is partnering with the Public Procurement Commission on a series of roadshows to sensitise micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) owners on how to benefit more from government contracts.

The Public Procurement (Set Asides) Order, 2019 reserves 20 per cent of contracts for MSMEs. This accounts for approximately $37 billion worth of contracts that are not fully taken up by the entities.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Sancia Bennett Templer, said that through the roadshows, local suppliers and contractors can learn how to register and apply for government contracts through training sessions hosted by the Public Procurement Commission.

“The training sessions [are important] because it’s not something that they are doing in their everyday business. You don’t get up every day when you’re an entrepreneur and think about ‘how do I procure?’. You’re thinking about ‘how do I get those cakes made and out? Who is going to buy them?’ and so on,” she pointed out.

“So, to be able to participate in public procurement, it requires training. We have trained some companies already, and we are committed to continue to train some companies in the SME sector to equip them to be able to take advantage of the set-aside opportunity,” she added.

Mrs. Bennett Templer was speaking at the launch of the Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) Growth and Resilience One-Day Working Conference on Wednesday (June 10) at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

She said that three training sessions have already been held, adding that some 1,700 companies have also benefited from training in information technology literacy and digitisation of small businesses.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Bennett Templer is encouraging MSME operators to support the SBAJ’s Growth and Resilience One-Day Working Conference, which will be held on July 16 at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel.

“We are very pleased to be a part of this conference. Several of our agencies are sponsoring. We are happy to be able to do that, and I am going to encourage business owners to come out, because when you come out, you meet other business owners. You can hear important information from presenters, you can interact with various agencies and departments of government and of the private sector that can provide you with pathways to growing your business,” Mrs. Bennett Templer said.

For his part, SBAJ President, Garnett Reid, said that the conference, under the theme ‘Rebuilding the MSME Sector: A National Imperative for 2026 and Beyond,’ aims to strengthen MSMEs, which he noted, are “the backbone of the Jamaican economy”.

He said it is expected that 400 business leaders, policymakers and development partners will be in attendance to build networks and unlock opportunities.

The conference will be structured around three areas: Informal to Formal – transitioning unregistered business activities into the regulated economy; Formal to Funding – preparing accurate financial statements and pitching to investors; and Compliance to Capital – unlocking larger pools of capital.

Annually, some 400,000 small business operators contribute approximately $1.3 trillion to the Jamaican economy.

Source: JIS