Director General in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Vivian Brown (2nd right), observes as president, MSME Alliance, Donovan Wignal (2nd left); and chairman, National Development Foundation of Jamaica (NDFJ), Dalma James, sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the NDFJ and the MSME Alliance, at the Ministry’s New Kingston offices, on Thursday, June 22, 2017. Assisting in the signing process at left is manager, NDFJ, Helia Burkett. The partnership agreement will provide training and other support services to members of the MSME sector.

The National Development Foundation of Jamaica (NDFJ) and the MSME Alliance have signed a Partnership Agreement to provide training and other support services to members of the MSME sector for a period of three years.
Under this Agreement the NDFJ and the MSME Alliance will also continue to explore and develop other programmes and partnerships in keeping with the intention of the partnership agreement.
In his address at the launch of the signed MOU on June 22, at the St. Lucia Avenue off offices of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Director General in the Ministry, Mr. Vivian Brown, said that the partnership was a timely initiative, given the increased emphasis by the Government on the development of the MSME sector.

“We see the MSME Alliance as more than a partner with Government and the private sector for providing services for the development of the MSME sector. Clearly, we cannot do it alone, and we welcome the critical role being played in this regard by the MSME Alliance. This partnership will surely redound to the growth and development of the sector”, he declared.

The Director General further stated that the Government was quite aware of the impediments to the growth and development of the sector, namely, the lack of access to capital.

“My ministry believes that there is the need for MSMEs to be able to access financing at interest rates that will be manageable, thus giving them a fair chance of realizing a profit. It is clear, therefore, that we will have to intensify our efforts not only to develop new strategies to improve access to capital, but also to improve the general performance of our firms”, he said.

This, he said, can be achieved by exploring other ways of financing, for example, equity financing and partnerships and that entrepreneurs should not only look at loan financing for their business, but to collaborate with other business owners of like mind to create economies of scale, producing goods and services in a more efficient manner, thus improving their profitability.

Mr. Brown implored all members of MSMEs to take advantage of this training opportunity being provided by the National Development Foundation and the MSME Alliance. He further commended both entities for the role they have been playing in helping to strengthen business development and advice to MSMEs.

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