KINGSTON, Jamaica - Exporters in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector are being encouraged to take full advantage of the newly launched FINPYME ExportPlus Jamaica programme, which seeks to improve the capacity of SMEs to better access export markets.

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce,Anthony Hylton, made the call as he addressed the ceremony to launch the initiative at the Terra Nova All Suites hotel in Kingston on Thursday.

“I am sure the programme will be a success and therefore, I charge every eligible exporting SME to take advantage of the opportunities available through this initiative,” the minister said.

An initiative of the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), a collaborating arm of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the FINPYME ExportPlus programme, which is significantly funded by the Government of Korea, currently provides technical assistance to exporters in 17 countries throughout the Caribbean.  

Among the objectives of the programme are to assist SMEs with building export readiness ; improving market access; increasing the performance and exports; and providing development support and assistance to SMEs.

Hylton said that the programme is a further commitment of the Government to strengthen Jamaica’s platform for export-led growth.

“The launch of this ExportPlus programme is taking place against the background of the determined effort of Government to improve the competitiveness of the export sector and the ease of doing business generally,” he said.

ExportPlus programme is a key component of Jamaica’s National Export Strategy (NES), which represents a unified strategic initiative to maximise the export sector’s direct contribution to economic and social development.

Hylton pointed out that the focus of the Government’s export strategy is to improve the competitiveness of Jamaican firms, with significant emphasis being placed on export development, export promotion activities and the development of supply chain infrastructure. 

He said ExportPlus is therefore one of the key programmes under the NES that will provide much needed technical assistance to the export community.

“At the end of the programme, we expect that there will be marked improvement in participating SMEs’ capacity to compete more confidently and effectively in international markets,” he added.

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