Survey Shows MSMEs Increased in 2023

Data from the Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica (ESSJ) 2023 indicate that micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) increased in number and sales relative to 2022.

Sales from MSMEs rose by 1.2 per cent, totalling $207.4 billion, driven by the performance of micro and medium-sized firms across various sectors, including Electricity and Water Supply, Mining and Quarrying, and Manufacturing.

Details were provided by Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Wayne Henry, in a message read by Senior Technical Specialist: Socio-economic Development, PIOJ, Charmaine Brimm, at the opening of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce’s ‘MSME Business Roadshow’, on January 16, at the Twickenham Park Church of the Open Bible in St. Catherine.

“Providing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with the opportunities to access services and facilitating access to financing to bolster their initiatives, represents a pivotal stride towards advancing economic development and mitigating poverty,” Dr. Henry said.

The Director General noted that data from the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) showed that Loans to Local Business Firms increased by 18.5 per cent in 2023, relative to 2022.

In addition, government initiatives, such as the provision of funds to organisations for on-lending, tax incentives, and business development programmes, alongside private-sector initiatives, played crucial roles in fostering this growth.

In the Own Account Worker category, which is used as a proxy for employment in the sector, this accounted for approximately 30.8 per cent of the Jamaican labour force, a 1.6 percentage point decrease.

The Director General said on average, business and consumer confidence improved, with the Index of Business Confidence averaging 139.8 points and the Index of Consumer Confidence rising to 163.0 points, indicating a positive economic outlook.

Meanwhile, from a Community Renewal standpoint, he said the focus on building community social capital and providing tools to enable community residents, in this instance the entrepreneurs, to develop necessary skill sets and knowledge to enhance the growth and expansion of their business and eventually wean themselves off government social programmes, is central to the community renewal process.

Dr. Henry added that an important strategy to achieve this will be to identify and optimise the human and other assets within Community Renewal Programme (CRP) areas and to transform these attributes into wealth-creating and income-generating opportunities.

“This is what is being achieved today with the participation of approximately 20 Local Economic Initiative (LEI)/community businesses being a small subset of the over 400 LEIs registered with the Social Development Commission (SDC), who are in attendance,” the Director General added.

Underscoring the critical role of the MSME sector in advancing the fundamental components of Jamaica’s economic structure, Dr. Henry said that they play essential roles in promoting equity, preserving wealth, fostering economic growth, generating employment opportunities, facilitating sustained development, encouraging innovation, and expanding the private sector.

The PIOJ is a sponsor of the Ministry’s second phase of its flagship initiative, the ‘MSME Business Roadshow’, being executed in partnership with the Inter-American Development (IDB).