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Scores of Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs), will in July, be exposed to several business clinics to be hosted by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC).

The clinics will offer support in the areas of product development and enhancement, technical and business skills development, product branding and labeling, design support services and marketing assistance.

“The aim is to reach existing and prospective entrepreneurs, as well as small business people. The business clinics will result in the decentralization of business development services,” said Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment, and Commerce, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes-Abrahams, while delivering the keynote address at the Grants Pen-Barbican Entrepreneurial Fair, on June 12, at the New Day Primary and Junior High School.

Through the clinics, approximately 480 MSMEs will be reached per annum. Agencies to offer services include the Companies Office of Jamaica, Tax Administration Jamaica, the Bureau of Standards, and other public sector entities.

“As we chart a new course for MSMEs and entrepreneurial development, we are fully aware of the possibilities for the future, while at the same time being mindful of some of the challenges. A country is built by one small business at a time,” the Minister said.

The Ministry’s focus is on enabling small businesses to be sustainable, through the JBDC Financial Support Services Unit (FSSU). The unit will provide support services to MSMEs to build their capacity and more comfortable navigate the existing financial market.

“The more small business owners we have in Jamaica, is the stronger our economy will be, and we want to help in supporting you to be successful. We have the talent, we have the commitment; when Jamaicans go abroad, they do fantastic, so let us do it here at our yard,” she told her audience.

By Garfield L. Angus