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State Minister for Industry, Investment and Commerce, and Member of Parliament for West Central St. James, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams, is pushing to increase the level of entrepreneurial skills in her constituency. Mrs. Ffolkes Abrahams reported during her Sectoral presentation in the House of Representatives on June 25, that some 105 budding and existing entrepreneurs have been receiving training through...

State Minister for Industry, Investment and Commerce, and Member of Parliament for West Central St. James, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams, says lands have been identified for the provision of low income housing in the constituency. The housing solutions will be located in Retirement, St. James, where there are also plans for an agro-park and a recycling plant that should lead...

Approximately 700 persons gained employment on various projects undertaken in West Central St. James, under the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP), at a cost of $35 million. State Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, and Member of Parliament for the constituency, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams, informed that the projects were done in the communities of Spring Gardens, Mount Salem and...

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton, is welcoming the World Investment Report 2013 and its focus on the Global Value Chains (GVCs), especially in light of Jamaica’s push for the global logistics hub as a path to transforming the country’s economy. Addressing the launch of the report, subtitled ‘Global Value Chains: Investment and Trade for Development’, at...

State Minister for Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams, says Jamaica should go after a larger share of the global US$624 billion creative goods and services market. Creative industry growth in Jamaica has moved from $313 million to $1.6 billion during the past two years, she pointed out, during her contribution to the 2013/14 Sectoral Debate in the...

State Minister for Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams, says a location has been identified to host the Montego Bay campus of the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI). She made the pronouncement while contributing to the 2013/14 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 25. Mrs. Ffolkes Abrahams pointed out that the facility will provide another tier...

State Minister for Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams, says Jamaica must tap into the lucrative Diaspora market in order to generate wealth and income for the country. “We must seek to search out our many Jamaicans in positions of high power and influence and win their support for the effort to grow our economy out of debt,...

Some 10 entities engaged in social enterprise activities have been identified for support under the Social Enterprise Boost Initiative (SEBI), being jointly implemented by the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, and Jamaica National Foundation. Social enterprises are organisations that incorporate business principles and strategies to maximise social and environmental development, as against pursuing profit maximisation for shareholders. State Minister...

State Minister for Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams, says the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) facilitated “significant business development services” to various stakeholders during the 2012/13 fiscal year. Making her 2013/14 Sectoral Debate presentation in Parliament on Tuesday, June 25, Mrs. Ffolkes Abrahams said the agency’s activities to this end, included: administering over 8,000 interventions for micro,...

The 10 Jamaican food facilities, which export ackee to the United States, have been included on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ‘green list’. This gives the entities exemption from detention of their products without physical examination and intensified surveillance, said State Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams, during her Sectoral presentation on Tuesday, June 25,...

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton, is calling for more medical labs to apply for accreditation, as the Government moves to position Jamaica as a health tourism destination. Mr. Hylton made the call at a ceremony to present a certificate of accreditation to Biomedical Caledonia Medical Laboratory Ltd, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Kingston, on June...

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton, has expressed the view that laboratory accreditation should be mandatory, as is done in other territories. "I think the time has come for us to begin to consider this…the risks are too great,” the Minister emphasised. Currently, labs voluntarily seek out accreditation. Mr. Hylton was speaking on Tuesday, June 25, at...