JBDC Focused on Market Access for MSMEs

The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) is moving beyond traditional capacity-building support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), placing greater emphasis on helping them gain sustainable access to markets and achieve business growth.

The new direction emerged from a high-level meeting held recently among the JBDC and representatives of the MSME Alliance, Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) and Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA), who discussed priorities for strengthening support to the sector.

The meeting was held at the JBDC headquarters in Kingston.

Chief Executive Officer of the JBDC, Daenia Ashpole, said the success of MSME support initiatives must be measured by the tangible impact they have on entrepreneurs and the wider economy.

“Collectively, we bear the responsibility of not just saying we’re doing something, but having entrepreneurs, the business community and the economy feel it,” Ms. Ashpole expressed.

She highlighted the importance of collaboration among organisations serving the small-business sector, noting that “we come to you as a team to see how best we can [work together] to push the agenda forward”.

During the meeting, YEA President, Cordell Williams, argued that while significant progress has been made in developing entrepreneurial skills, access to markets remains the biggest hurdle facing many businesses.

“I think a lot of work has been done in capacity development, but in terms of markets, sustainable access to markets and cash flow is where everything hits the fan,” she said.

She noted that future support should focus on ensuring entrepreneurs are market-ready and equipped to capitalise on opportunities both locally and internationally, including those in emerging export markets.

“We don’t want to be doing a lot of activities that go nowhere,” Ms. Williams added, calling for a more targeted approach to business development support.

The discussions also highlighted the importance of stronger data collection and information-sharing to improve how support services are delivered to MSMEs.

For his part, MSME Alliance Council Member, Mohan Beckford, said data gathered through various programmes should be consolidated and shared among support organisations to better track results and identify gaps.

“One way is to ensure that those data are aggregated so that it can feed back to organisations such as the JBDC. This will help us get an understanding of the impact that is being made and where the gaps are,” Mr. Beckford said.

The consultations are expected to inform future strategies aimed at boosting business readiness, expanding market access and increasing growth opportunities for Jamaican MSMEs.

The JBDC currently supports approximately 400 local producers through its Things Jamaican™ retail stores and e-commerce platform, while advancing efforts to increase exports and international market penetration.