JBDC Hosts Virtual Grant Proposal-Writing Workshop For Social Entrepreneurs

Social entrepreneurs will benefit from a virtual grant proposal-writing workshop being hosted by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) from July 29 to 31.

The three-day session, which will be held via the Zoom platform, will provide participants with understanding and insight of the dynamics of proposal writing from the donor’s perspective, help them learn how to construct strategic proposals for business or development projects, and empower them to write winning proposals.

It will include a live pitch session on Friday, July 31.

Speaking with JIS News, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of JBDC, Harold Davis, highlighted the importance of the workshop in helping to foster the growth of social entrepreneurship in Jamaica.

He said the JBDC recognises social enterprises as an emerging component of the local micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) ecosystem, and the subsector will play a key role in Jamaica’s coronavirus (COVID-19) economic recovery efforts.

“The impact that social enterprises can have on our economy is significant, and even though it has been increasing in recent years, we have still not been paying sufficient attention to the growth, development and sustainability of our social enterprises subsector. They are important to us, especially in this time of the pandemic,” he noted.

The workshop is being sponsored by the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) and Sagicor, which are covering the $15,000-per-person cost for participation.

Mr. Davis hailed the public- and private-sector partnerships for the staging of the workshop, noting that such collaboration is integral to the development of social enterprises.

“If we don’t have collaboration between the public and private sector along with industry associations, we won’t achieve the level of growth that we need in this country. Therefore, it is so important at the JBDC to take this kind of joined-up Jamaica approach,” he said.

The JBDC is the Government’s business development agency that assists in the sustainable creation and development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Source: JIS