Entrepreneur, Mark Shand, who owns fashion accessories outlet, K&M Designs, first decided to make ladies handbags from calabash after meeting a woman who owned one for 10 years. “I examined it, liked it, and started to make them some time later. The same woman saw my version, liked it, and suggested that I make earrings as well,” he told JIS...

Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, is calling on members of the local chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) to support the Government’s thrust to get more informal businesses regularised. He said regularisation will enable them to access benefits such as financing at reasonable rates, better positioning them to participate in productive activities, which will...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, says the credit union movement has been a tower of economic strength, which has served as a catalyst for many small and medium-size businesses. Speaking at the Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League (JCCUL) awards banquet at the Hilton Rose Hall Hotel & Resort in St. James, recently, Minister Shaw said...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, says the Government is in the process of developing a crop loss and farm insurance programme. Making his Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on May 29, Mr. Hutchinson noted that a concept document outlining the mechanism for the off-budget financing of the...

Principal Director in the Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (MSME) Division, Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Oral Shaw, has called on operators in the sector to engage more in business continuity management and disaster risk reduction. Speaking at a Business Continuity Workshop at The Knutsford Court Hotel on May 21, Mr. Shaw said MSMEs account for 70 to...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, says the Ministry intends to tackle the issue of food imports in the tourism industry head-on. The majority of the island’s total food imports, about 60 per cent, are directed to the hotel, restaurant and institutional (HRI) sector. Mr. Shaw said it should not be the case that most of...

Registered farmers who were affected by heavy rains between May 4 and 7 will receive assistance through funds allocated to Members of Parliament. Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, informed the House today (May 15) that through collaboration with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), “each rural constituency will be given $1 million, while urban constituencies will...