Micro and Small Business Owners Invited to Procurement Meeting on March 26

Micro and small business owners are being urged to attend a public meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 26 to learn about the Government’s procurement process and increase their prospects of bidding for contracts.

The meeting is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. at the EXIM Bank’s meeting room, 85 Hope Road, and is designed to help entrepreneurs understand and access government procurement opportunities.

It is being coordinated by the Public Procurement Commission; the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service; the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, and the Development Bank of Jamaica.

“We are calling on all micro enterprises with an annual turnover of below $15 million and small businesses with turnover between $15 million and $75 million, to learn about the Government’s procurement process. This is a big deal,” Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, said as she closed the 2026/27 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 24.

She indicated that it may be expanded to facilitate virtual attendees, based on the positive interest being received from small businesses from across Jamaica.

“I must confess, this is an announcement that gives me great joy to share details because now ‘a company does not have to be big to bid.’ The small contractor can now bid on projects within her company’s capability. The tech start-up can now have a fair chance to bid at digitising records for our ministries, departments and agencies. This is what this opportunity looks like under this Administration. Small businesses will finally have a chance at government procurement,” the Minister said.

Furthermore, she reiterated the Government’s commitment to implement the

Public Procurement (Set Asides) Framework, which reserves a portion of government contracts for Jamaican suppliers. Implementation of the framework will be advanced during fiscal year 2026/27.

Minister Williams indicated that the executives of the Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) met with her at the Ministry’s offices on January 9, 2026, specifically on the matter of the Public Procurement (Set Asides) framework.

She further noted that since her meeting with the leadership of the SBAJ, the Public Procurement Commission has been working on establishing and maintaining a verified list of qualifying small business suppliers, so they can easily identify eligible businesses when applying the Set Asides Provisions.