Task Force Set Up To Assist MSMEs

In a move to make financing of the micro productive sector easier, the Government has established a broad based Task Force to help solve the issues affecting the sector.

Making the announcement, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton, says the move is necessary as the sector is crucial to the Government’s growth agenda, and “addressing the challenge of financing solutions for the micro productive sector, is an investment that the Government must participate in.”

“In this regard, I have appointed a Task Force, comprising members of the private sector, academia and Government, to work on finding solutions to this urgent problem,” he said, while delivering the keynote address at the launch of COK Sodality Co-operative Credit Union Micro Finance Unit, in St. Andrew, on March 25.

The Minister argued that micro businesses are powerful instruments for enabling the poor to build assets, increase incomes, and reduce their vulnerability to economic stress. “It is fitting that COK has dedicated a unit to facilitate access to credit for the micro sector,” he added.

Mr. Hylton said COK’s move is admirable at this time, due to the need for financial institutions to restructure their operations for survival and to meet the needs of their clients. “It is my hope that this move will be emulated by other credit unions and financial institutions across Jamaica,” he said.

The Minister explained that development of a national Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) policy, and the enactment of several new laws, including the Insolvency Act, are all geared at strengthening the sector with improved support from agencies in his Ministry.

COK Sodality Co-operative Credit Union is one of 12 Micro Financing Institutions (MFIs) that are accredited by the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ).