Market access for local producers high on MSME stakeholders’ list

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) is turning its attention to the next phase of support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), with greater focus on helping businesses move from capacity building into market readiness, sustainable market access and growth. The corporation last week engaged representatives of the MSME Alliance, Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ), and Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA) as it examines how existing programmes, partnerships and resources can deliver stronger results for businesses. Speaking during the high-level meeting held at the JBDC’s head office, Chief Executive Officer Daenia Ashpole said the impact of MSME support must ultimately be reflected in the experience of entrepreneurs and the wider economy. “Collectively, we bear the responsibility of not just saying we're doing so, but having entrepreneurs and the business community and the economy feel it. And I take personal responsibility,” a press release quoted Ashpole as saying. The discussion gave industry representatives an opportunity to identify areas where greater attention could help businesses move beyond starting to commercial growth. Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA), President Cordell Williams said significant work has already been done in developing the capacity of entrepreneurs, but sustainable access to markets and cash flow remain critical to their ability to grow. “I think a lot of work has been done in capacity development, but in terms of markets, sustainable access to markets and cash flow is where everything hits the fan,” Williams said. Williams identified the services sector and exports among areas with further growth potential, pointing to YEA’s work around market entry into Ghana and West Africa. She said support should increasingly focus on ensuring entrepreneurs have the capacity, capability and access needed to become market ready and pursue opportunities locally and internationally. “We don't want to be doing a lot of activity that goes nowhere,” Williams said, calling for a more targeted approach to the sectors being supported. The discussions also examined opportunities to build on existing programmes and partnerships, including JBDC’s Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) Network. MSME Alliance Council Member, Mohan Beckford further pointed to stronger data collection and sharing as an important part of improving support to the sector. Beckford said information generated through the various programmes available to MSMEs should be aggregated and shared with supporting organisations, including JBDC, to help identify where interventions are making an impact and where gaps remain. “One way is to ensure that those data are aggregated so that it can feed back to organisations such as JBDC so that we can understand the impact that is being made and where the gaps are,” Beckford said. Small Business Association of Jamaica President Garnet Reid also underscored the need for organisations serving the sector to work together, noting that JBDC, SBAJ, the MSME Alliance and YEA each have a role to play in advancing the interests of small businesses. Ashpole said JBDC is approaching the engagement as a partner and is looking to combine the strengths of organisations already working within the MSME ecosystem. “We come to you as a team to see how best we can be a teammate of yours to push the agenda forward,” she said. The discussions are expected to help inform how JBDC and its partners target future support, with business readiness, market access, sector growth and measurable impact among the areas emerging from the engagement. The JBDC currently provides market access for approximately 400 local producers of authentic Jamaican products through its Things Jamaican™ retail stores and e-commerce platform. The push for internationalisation is directly aligned to the Ministry of Industry, Investment & Commerce’s (MIIC) agenda for increased productivity and export.