Gov’t Ignites 30 MSMEs

Some 30 Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) are to benefit from grant funding to commercialise their projects under the Innovation Grant from New Ideas to Entrepreneurship (IGNITE) Programme.
“New businesses will be targeted under this pilot project, which will last for two years,” said Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda.
He was speaking at the official opening of a training facility for small businesses located at the Restoring Entrepreneurial Success Through Education and Technology (RESET) Caribbean Foundation offices on Brompton Road in New Kingston on May 20, 2016.
IGNITE is a programme of the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), targeting new businesses.
The objective of the programme is to support the creation and growth of new innovative firms in productive sectors. It will operate through Business Service Intermediaries (BSI) selected in a transparent and competitive process.
These BSIs will be responsible for facilitating the development of proposal presentation, helping DBJ in monitoring the objectives agreed with each beneficiary, and acting as a conduit for grant funds to the entrepreneurs.
Minister Samuda further informed that the Government is partnering with stakeholders to implement capacity-building programmes for women, youth and vulnerable groups engaged in entrepreneurship.
The initiatives include a component on how these groups can improve their financial status and the management of their business.
The Industry Minister said the Government is also seeking to boost the linkages framework in order to connect MSMEs with the tourism and agricultural sectors in areas such as craft, fashion, and agro-processing.
“Increasing the linkages framework will also ensure greater involvement of MSMEs in the local and global value chains,” Mr. Samuda said.

JIS