Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) Managing Director, Milverton Reynolds, says he expects support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for its Innovation Grant from New Ideas to Entrepreneurship (IGNITE) programme. The second phase of the programme was launched at the Spanish Court Hotel, in New Kingston, on Friday (April 27). “I am pleased to announce...

The Government will be spending $9 million this year to strengthen the National Air Quality Management Programme. The money will be used to, among other things, expand Jamaica’s monitoring regime and build technical capacity to further bolster and enhance procedures, protocols and standards. This was disclosed by Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon....

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has given high marks for Jamaica’s performance under the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), saying programme implementation remains strong, with public debt firmly on a downward trajectory. In its recently released Executive Board Review, the Fund highlighted that strong programme implementation continues to anchor macroeconomic stability. “All quantitative performance criteria and structural benchmarks for end-December 2017 were...

Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) Director General, Dr. Wayne Henry, says the global shared services (GSS) sector, of which business process outsourcing (BPO) is a part, is a key pillar in the country’s economic growth and diversification strategy. Dr. Henry said marked growth in the BPO labour force is one area in which the sector’s impact has been most evident,...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Audrey Sewell, says the Government is creating the supportive environment to increase business process outsourcing (BPO) investment, through the build-out of office space and providing access to training and incubator services. Mrs. Sewell, who was speaking at a recent Labour Market Forum at the Terra Nova Hotel in St....

Jamaica is among three Caribbean islands to benefit from a four-year initiative that will help the country prioritise and invest in ecosystems that specifically reduce its risk of disasters related to climate change. The Dominican Republic and Grenada are the other two islands to benefit from the Resilient Islands by Design Project, which runs from 2017 to 2021. The objective...

The Government is targeting a reduction in the timeline for processing Special Economic Zone (SEZ) applications to 60 days by 2019, with further reductions in subsequent years. Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, made the disclosure at a Blockchain Design Workshop organised by the Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority (JSEZA), at...