Industry Ministry and IDB launch MSME Business Roadshow

The Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce is looking to strengthen engagement with the local micro, small and medium sized enterprises.

The Ministry has launched a MSME Business Roadshow in conjunction with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Dwayne Haynes, Director of Technical Co-ordination and Monitoring in the Ministry, said the series, which begins in July, will offer a wide range of services to MSMEs.

“The roadshow will provide MSMEs with capacity building support, access to public services, increased awareness of financing opportunities as well as seek to foster greater connectivity between markets and customers. Firms will be required to register via an electronic platform prior to or at the event and these firms, once they are registered, will form part of our national MSME database,” he advised. 

Mr. Haynes is also chairman of the project steering committee.

Jamaica’s Country Representative at the IDB, Tariq Alli, said the MSME focus comes as the bank works to increase collaboration with the private sector, especially in light of their contribution to gross domestic product (GDP).

“The private sector is more than the big name companies that we are all very accustomed to, the households names in Jamaica. It involves a very, very important MSME space. Some of our studies suggest that there over 400,000 MSEs in Jamaica and the estimated contribution to GDP is around 44 per cent. So just by basic maths, that’s a big number. So why wouldn’t we want to focus on this very important sector?” 

http://radiojamaicanewsonline.com/business/industry-ministry-and-idb-launch-msme-business-roadshow

Source: Radio Jamaica News Online