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Government to establish five more business incubators

Published:Monday | July 22, 2019 | 12:17 AM
Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, and Fisheries, Floyd Green (left), is in discussion with (from second left): Executive Director of Jamaica Business Development Corporation, Valerie Veira; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Jennifer Griffith; and Director of Tourism, Donovan White, during the fifth staging of the Christmas in July trade show at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on July 18.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, and Fisheries, Floyd Green (left), is in discussion with (from second left): Executive Director of Jamaica Business Development Corporation, Valerie Veira; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Jennifer Griffith; and Director of Tourism, Donovan White, during the fifth staging of the Christmas in July trade show at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on July 18.

Five additional business incubators will be established over the next two years, which will provide much-needed business services and support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) operators.

This was disclosed by Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Floyd Green, at the opening ceremony for the fifth staging of ‘Christmas in July’ at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on July 18.

Green said that the facilities will be built by the Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ). “We have already identified a space in Montego Bay,” he said, noting that incubators will be established outside of Kingston as part of efforts to spread business development services to other parishes.

Green noted that the incubators will enable entrepreneurs to grow their businesses at a low cost.

“A lot of MSMEs have said to us that they start at home with an idea in their kitchen or on their verandah, and when it’s time for them to grow, there is a difficulty accessing space so that they can scale up. We have a facility on Marcus Garvey Drive that’s oversubscribed; we have to get out into the rest of Jamaica,” he said.

Meanwhile, some 120 local producers of authentic Jamaican gift and souvenir items showcased their products and networked with corporate entities and various industry players at Christmas in July.

On display were traditional souvenir items of all kinds –corporate, home and decorative accessories, desktop solutions, specialty foods, and aromatherapy/spa products.

Christmas in July is a collaborative effort of the Tourism Linkages Network and its partners, Jamaica Promotions Corporation, Jamaica Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association, Jamaica Business Development Corporation, and the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association. The mission of the linkages network is to position and assist the tourism sector to increase its demand for, and consumption of, goods and services that can be competitively sourced in Jamaica.

The primary goal is to ensure that Jamaica’s tourism sector becomes better integrated, with local opportunities for other sectors, such as entertainment, agriculture, and manufacturing.