JSE to Launch Micro Market in April 2026

April 2026 is the target date for the launch of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) Micro Market.

Managing Director of the JSE, Dr. Marlene Street Forrest, made the disclosure in an interview with JIS News at the Cumax Wealth Management Spring Investment Forum on Wednesday (April 30) at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston.

The Government accepted a proposal from the JSE to establish the Micro Market to enable smaller companies to raise equity capital and support their growth initiatives.

“We are preparing to launch the JSE Micro Market. The Finance Minister had announced that the Government is in favour of having a micro market, which completes the entire ecosystem in terms of the large companies, medium and now very small companies,” Dr. Street Forrest said.

The JSE Micro Market will meet the needs of micro, small and medium-sized (MSME) enterprises in the $10 million to $50 million participating equity capital bracket.

“They will be able to get certain provisions from the Government… just as with the Junior Market,” Dr. Street Forrest noted.

“Legislation will be passed to allow for that, and a part of the consideration will be how we create capacity-building for good governance for these micro companies, because we believe and, actually, we know that equity capital is the engine for the companies to grow,” she said.

In terms of the fee structure, she said that these will be lower to make listing more accessible for smaller companies.

“The cost will be much lower because we recognise that the ability to fund an initial public offering (IPO) is going to be a challenge. We are looking at partners in this – it is really partners in the professional sector to allow for the cost of listing and continuing to list to be minimal,” Dr. Street Forrest said.

The JSE is now in the process of putting together a steering committee to direct the establishment of the structure of the Micro Market.

This will be comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, the JSE, the Companies Office of Jamaica, the Securities Dealers’ Association, the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ), and the legal fraternity.