PRIORITY ON STRENGTHENING MSME SECTOR

By: KADIAN BROWN

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Karl Samuda (right), speaking with World Bank representative, Mr. Badrul Haque (left), at the opening session of the National Export Strategy (NES) Resource Mobilisation Forum on November 19 at Jamaica Trade and Invest (JTI) on Trafalgar Road in Kingston. Looking on are JTI President, Ms. Sancia Bennett Templer (second left) and Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), Ms. Patricia Francis.

For 2009, the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce focussed primarily on developing and strengthening initiatives to boost the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector, entrepreneurship, investment and commerce.

In this regard, the Ministry signed several agreements, launched and extended a number of initiatives and had major meetings and discussions to facilitate local investment.

In its bid to foster and support business development, the Ministry through the designated agencies, launched Export Centres/Business Information Points (ECBIP) throughout the island.

Centres were set up at the Rural Agricultural Development Authority’s offices in St. Thomas, Portland and St. Catherine and in Westmoreland, at the Savanna-la-mar Civic Centre.

JBDC & JAMBIC Outlets

A partnership involving the Jamaica Exporters’ Association (JEA), the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) and Jamaica Trade and Invest (JTI), the project aims to positively impact national export performance and competitiveness, while providing standardised business information.

To further boost business development and entrepreneurship, the JBDC opened Jamaica Business Information Centres (JAMBIC) at the Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) in Kingston; Northern Caribbean University in Manchester; Royal Mall, Port Antonio, Portland and St. Ann Chamber of Commerce, Ocho Rios, St. Ann.

The JAMBICs offer a core suite of services, including general business information, business development training, customised training packages, business planning services, and back office support to MSMEs. There are presently 11 JAMBICs in operation throughout the island, with the addition of these four since the start of the year.

The Ministry facilitated several workshops and seminars throughout the year, aimed at strengthening business development and the growth of the micro, small and medium enterprise sector. The JBDC held business development seminars, clinic and expos in Kingston and St. James, geared at exposing participants to various means of growing and strengthening their businesses and surviving the economic crisis.

Opportunities Jamaica 2009

In March, business interests within the local tourism and hospitality sector were invited to participate in the ‘Opportunities Jamaica 2009’ Expo, staged by the JTI, at the Half Moon Conference Centre, in Montego Bay, St. James.

State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Michael Stern (centre), listens to Director General of Consumers International, Mr. Joost Martens (right), at the launch of the ‘Promotion of Consumer Protection Project in the Caribbean’, held at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston on November 24. At left is Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Affairs Commission and President of the Caribbean Consumer Council, Mrs. Dolsie Allen.

‘Opportunities Jamaica 2009’ was a business linkage event, with focus on networking, business matchmaking and product display opportunities, and targeted a range of tourism players, including purchasing managers, executive chefs, operation managers of hotels, restaurants, tourist gift shops and spa facilities, which are located in the tourist resort areas.

In April,  the JTI, in association with the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) and the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), staged a workshop on Business Formalisation Guidelines, aimed at providing participants with the opportunity to learn about the processes involved in registering a company or business, and their attendant intellectual properties.

During the year, the Ministry was engaged in several overseas discussions and activities to drive local investment.

In February, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Karl Samuda was part of a delegation that represented Jamaica at the inaugural Jamaica/UK Investment Forum in Westminster, London, England.

The forum involved discussions on ‘Investing in Jamaica’ and ‘Jamaica’s Improving Economy’ and included presentations from successful investors in Jamaica, such as GraceKennedy, Digicel and Blue Mountain Coffee (Europe) Limited.

By May, Minister Samuda went on a working trip to Canada to observe  the Canadians’ business development experience and find strategies to help Jamaica become more competitive.

Accompanying the Minister were Jamaica’s High Commissioner to Canada, Ms. Evadne Coye; Manager of Investment Support Services at the (JTI), Mr. Robert Kerr; Chief Executive Officer of the JBDC, Ms. Valerie Veira; Director of Commerce in the Ministry, Ms. Andrene Collings; and Modernisation Projects Co-ordinator in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Ms. Lorna Perkins.

Jamaican Business Expo

The JTI led a delegation of representatives from 19 local companies to participate in the 2009 Jamaican Business Expo at the Sunset Lakes Community Centre in Miramar, South Florida, in the United States of America (USA), from September 3 to 4.

Participation in the expo formed part of the JTI’s efforts to boost the promotion of trade and investment opportunities and prospects between Jamaican business interests and their counterparts in the burgeoning South Florida Diaspora.

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Karl Samuda (2nd left), in discussion with (from left), Executive Director of FOCAL, Mr. Carlo Dade; Mr. Joseph Redhead of Dessau International, and Programme Director of Canada's Trade Facilitation Office, Mr. Norm McIsaac, during his working trip to Canada from May 21 to 23.

Local manufacturers and exporters, whose products were displayed included:  Trout Hall Limited, which showcased its ugli fresh fruit juice; Easi-Spice, which exhibited spices and seasonings; First World Imports, which produces the Caribbean Sunshine line of canned fruits, vegetables and juices; Electric Arc (Jamaica) Limited - ELARC electrodes; Lasco; Seprod, Tetley Jamaica Limited; Cooyah; and Central Food Packers.

National Export Policy MoU

Additionally, the JTI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Trade Centre (ITC) on June 16, to support efforts to effectively promote the National Export Strategy among local stakeholders.

The MoU established the framework for the National Export Strategy (NES) Communications Plan, and facilitated financial support for the communications programme, which is being rolled out by JTI, in collaboration with the Jamaica Exporters’ Association (JEA).

Jamaica’s National Export Strategy aims to achieve export-led growth of the Jamaican economy, by improving export performance in eight key sectors: agro-processing (food and beverages); aquaculture; coffee; information and communications technology (ICT); minerals and mining; education; entertainment; and fashions.

The Ministry was also actively involved in the opening of the Jamaica Import/Export Inspection Centre in June. The centre is expected to reduce overlaps and gaps in the import/export inspection process and will operate as a ‘one stop shop’, housing all the regulatory agencies with responsibility for human safety, animal health and plant health, which fall under the Ministries of Agriculture and Fisheries; Industry, Investment and Commerce, and Health, as well as the Jamaica Customs Department.

The JTI, through its Corporate Finance Broker (CFB) Unit, partnered with the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) to facilitate potential capital injection in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), through the Junior Stock Exchange.

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Karl Samuda (left), accepts from former President of Jamaica Trade and Invest (JTI), Mr. Robert Gregory (second left), a signed copy of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which will provide assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to list on the Junior Stock Exchange. Looking on are: General Manager of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), Ms. Marlene Street-Forrest (second right) and Head, Delegation of the European Commission, Ambassador Marco Mazzocchi-Alemanni. Mr. Gregory and Mrs. Street-Forrest signed the MOU on July 1 at the JTI's Trafalgar Road offices in Kingston.

The parties signed an MoU in July to enhance and grow the small business sector, and allow for participation in the Junior Stock Exchange, which encourages domestic investment in entrepreneurship, employment and economic development.

Caymanas Economic Zone Mou

An MoU, aimed at getting investors for the development of the proposed Caymanas Economic Zone, was signed on August 25 between the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce and Inter Continental Capital Worldwide Limited, a company based in Hong Kong.

Under this MoU, Inter Continental will report to the Ministry every three months, providing a report on what progress has been made in bringing together investors and the estimated time within which construction could commence.

The Caymanas Economic Zone, to be located in St. Catherine, is anticipated to cost US$2.5 billion and is expected to lead to the employment of over 30,000 people. The project entails the build-out of units that will service the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, and the services industry, and provide warehousing and light manufacturing facilities.

Charities Amnesty

By September, the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) launched its Charities Amnesty to provide charitable groups (churches, service clubs, charities, non-governmental organisations, non-profit associations), the opportunity to file outstanding returns at reduced rates of between 50 and 75 per cent. The charities amnesty, which was originally slated for September 1 to November 30, has been extended to February 2010.

The year closed with the launch of the ‘Promotion of Consumer Protection in the Caribbean Project’, which is being implemented by Consumers International (CI), with co-funding from the Inter-American Development (IDB).

This project is a partnership with governmental and non-governmental agencies in three Caribbean countries namely, Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and is aimed at strengthening capacity of consumer organisations and government agencies in the Caribbean region; strengthening technical capacity in the area of banking and credit for non-government and government consumer agencies and enhancing consumer education.

The project implementation unit is housed at the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC), in Kingston.