MSMEs to benefit from $1 billion in support

The Government will be spending $1 billion to assist with the growth of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

The funds, which have been allotted in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, will facilitate increased access to financing for MSMEs under two projects being undertaken by the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ).

These are the Credit Enhancement Programme, for which a sum of $600 million has been allocated; and the Access to Finance for MSMEs project, for which $400 million has been provided.

Under the Credit Enhancement Programme, 64 bank guarantees will be issued to MSMEs in the upcoming fiscal year. Up to December 2018, a total 70 bank guarantees were issued to targeted businesses.

Originally slated to run from September 2017 to September 2022, the programme, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, aims to promote investments in MSMEs in Jamaica by enhancing their access to financing, particularly medium and long-term loans.

In the meantime, the Access to Finance for MSMEs seeks to increase the number of businesses with guaranteed loans through the DBJ Loan Guarantee Fund; and increase the number of entities getting access to risk capital through the Fund.

This project, being funded by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is slated to run from March 2018 to January 2023. 

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