NSIPP Registry Facilitates 22,208 Loans

The National Security Interests in Personal Property (NSIPP) Registry has facilitated a total of 22,208 loans.

Among these, 2,640 loans were allocated for business purposes, and 19,567 were individual loans.

The information is contained in the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) Economic and Social Survey Jamaica 2023, which was tabled in Parliament recently.

The survey noted that 59.2 per cent (1,562) of the business loans were directed towards the micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sector, while the remaining 40.8 per cent (1,078 loans) were extended to large businesses.

“Individual loans may encompass loans issued to Own-Account Workers/Sole Traders,” the document noted.

Meanwhile, in 2021 the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC) implemented the MSME Fund, housed within the EXIM Bank, which offers loans to MSMEs.

“This loan programme enabled MSMEs to access funds of up to $25 million at a fixed interest rate of 4.75 per cent per annum, with a grace period of 12 months. At the close of 2023, the EXIM Bank had approved loans for 24 clients under this facility and disbursed a total of $535.1 million,” the survey said.

In addition, to strengthen the capability of enterprises to engage in the public procurement process, tailored training was provided to enable effective tendering for public contracts and expansion in line with required standards.

“Collaborating with the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) and the Office of Public Procurement Policy (OPPP) within the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MOFPS), the MIIC facilitated training for 40 MSMEs in 2023 under the Public Procurement Readiness Project,” the survey stated.