Entrepreneurs strapped for cash will no longer have to fret about the cost to set up shop now that the Business District has been officially opened, say the company’s owner.

“We are positioned to accommodate a range of needs,” managing director Maria Jones said. “Particularly for small and medium-sized businesses unable to afford the capital associated with the establishment of a traditional office with support personnel and services”.

Earlier this month, the Old Hope Road location formally began the business of providing furnished office space on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis.

For those who may not require physical space, the Business District also provides virtual office space.

“Our virtual package is less than $11,000 a month,” Jones said. “And provides business owners with an address, a unique telephone and fax number as well as a virtual administrative assistant”.

These unique numbers are provided through the use of a cloud PBX telephone system provided by telecoms giant Digicel.

Cloud telephony allows companies to access PBX services without having to set up the required equipment.

“The Business District is among the first cloud telephony clients of Digicel,” head of the company’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) department, Suzanne Saunders said.

The brainchild of Jones, the company was formed over 10 years ago but was shelved due to problems in the local financial sector.

“When you think about starting a business, the first thing you think about is the cost of setting up,” Jones said last year.

“If you begin at the Business District, you can walk in with a briefcase and get started [because] everything is in place”.

“Prices are reasonable,” she said, “and clients have the flexibility of buying the services they need only when they need it”.

“Furnished and virtual spaces will provide businesses with the services they require at a reduced cost,” finance minister Peter Phillips said at the company’s launch.