Global Entrepreneurship Week from November 16 to 21

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton, is encouraging established business people and budding entrepreneurs to participate in the slew of activities being organised by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) for Global Entrepreneurship Week.

The Minister, who was addressing the launch at the ATL Automotive Centre in Kingston on October  30, said the week-long celebration, from November 16 to 21, is a fitting way to encourage entrepreneurship, as the Government continues to focus on creating the kind of environment that will bolster business.

He noted that the country’s improved ranking in the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business Report proves that the measures being undertaken are working.

“With continued determination and with these achievements under our belt we look forward to supporting our Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in bigger and better ways, and the recently tabled Special Economic Zone legislation will have positive implications for the MSMEs,” he stated.

The 2016 Doing Business Report has ranked Jamaica’s economy in the top ten most improved economies worldwide. Jamaica has also improved its ranking in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.

This movement is attributed to Jamaica’s implementation of four major reforms over the past year. These are: the introduction of the online system for paying taxes, RAiS; introduction of Employment Tax Credit; increasing the depreciation rate for industrial buildings; and making insolvency proceedings easier by establishing an insolvency office to facilitate general administration.

Jamaica also excelled in the areas of Getting Credit and in Starting a Business, where now incorporating a business takes a minimum of three days and two interactions with government agencies.

The report also highlighted Jamaica as being one of two countries in the Caribbean that have made tax compliance easier for businesses.

Global Entrepreneurship Week, which is in its third year, is being observed under the theme: ‘Going for G.R.O.W.T.H.’

Minister Hylton said the theme is in keeping with Government’s commitment to support MSMEs in all stages of the business lifecycle, as they help to provide jobs, encourage innovation and support economic growth.

Chief Executive Officer of the JBDC, Valerie Viera, said the week will be used to celebrate entrepreneurs “who have gone out and taken risks to go into business.”

She praised the various sponsors, noting that their support is a signal of confidence in the Jamaican entrepreneurial spirit.

The JBDC CEO noted that the agency has been working with professionals engaged in various business activities to formalise their activities.

“A lot of the professional doctors, lawyers say they are just doctors and lawyers. We say your business is medicine and law. You need to start thinking more as a business rather than just a professional.  You are operating a business that is engineering, medicine or law,” she pointed out.

The week’s activities promise to be informative and include business clinics, workshops, public foras, lectures and conferences hosted by noted businesspeople.

Activities are to be held in Kingston, Mandeville, Ocho Rios, Savanna- la-mar and Montego Bay.