DBJ Extends Ignite IV Application Deadline

Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) now have up to Friday, January 6, 2023, to submit applications for the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) Innovation Grant for New Ideas to Entrepreneurship (IGNITE IV).

The DBJ extended the original deadline from December 16, citing demand as the reason.

“The decision to extend the deadline was set against the background of the numerous requests received from entrepreneurs and small business owners requesting an extension. Considering the Christmas holiday is fast approaching, and it is one of the busiest times for their businesses, we readily agreed to a three-week extension,” Boosting Innovation, Growth and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (BIGEE) Programme Manager, Christopher Brown said, in a DBJ release.

IGNITE is a grant funding programme offered by the DBJ to MSEs to scale and grow their businesses.

The DBJ is looking for novel and innovative business ideas in the areas of Tourism and Creatives; Agriculture and Manufacturing; Technology – software and ICT; Climate Change, and Gender.

Registered Jamaican businesses can access up to $7 million under the programme, and are encouraged to apply for an IGNITE grant by aligning with one of the seven Business Service Intermediaries (BSI) that the DBJ has working on the programme.

The BSIs are Jamaica Business Development Corporation, Sister’s Ink Jamaica, Technology Innovation Centre, Caribbean Climate Innovation Centre, Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Kingston Creative, and TBR Lab.

IGNITE is part of the DBJ’s BIGEE programme, which is funded through a loan agreement between the Government of Jamaica and the Inter-American Development Bank.

The direct outcome of BIGEE is to build out and ensure Jamaica has a robust and sustained entrepreneurship ecosystem.