Seven institutions that for decades have been at the forefront of government agencies that are facilitating private sector development yesterday shared notes on the impact they have had on nation-building through the infrastructure they have created, their funding programmes, and the wide range of services and support they provide to private sector corporations.

The seven State-run corporations were culled from an initial list of 35 that were identified as potential nominees for this year’s Jamaica Observer Business Leader Award.

Their senior executives and board members, who were yesterday feted by the Observer newspaper at its headquarters on Beechwood Avenue in Kingston, used the occasion to champion their institution as deserving of the nomination, and that the recognition reflected their years of continuous commitment to the growth of the private sector.

The nomination of the seven — Port Authority of Jamaica, Ex-Im Bank, JAMPRO, Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), HEART Trust, and National Housing Trust (NHT) — marks the first time in the 17-year history of the programme that non-private sector entities were considered for the award.

Milverton Reynolds, the president of the DBJ, told other nominees, sponsors of the programme, and members of the award selection committee that the next big proponent to accelerate private sector development was a genuine venture capital fund — a project that is now being actively spearheaded by the development bank.

“Venture capital is a missing piece of the completeness,” declared Reynolds, whose bank has played a role in underwriting many of the major projects that have sprung up in Jamaica over the past two decades.

“As it is now,” he continued, responding to a question from Milton Samuda, chairman of JAMPRO, “DBJ is actually responsible for developing what we call the eco-system venture capital, but it will be private sector-led and driven.”

Samuda’s argument was that the risk-averse posture of many banks — driven largely by prudential strictures — meant that a source of capital with greater risk tolerance had to be developed.

“There is something missing in the offering; and what is missing is something that I know DBJ and Ex-Im have been working on — the development of a true venture capital market, an angel investor network, because that is what is going to fill that gap,” he said.

Easton Douglas, chairman of the NHT, made reference to the over $170 billion in mortgages that his institution has provided since inception in 1976, and the partnerships it has forged with private sector developers and contractors for the construction of tens of thousands of houses.

But Douglas was also animated by the bureaucracy which he said had hamstrung infrastructural development and housing projects, and urged a speedy review of the current laws.

“The law says that if any developer applies for planning permission and does not get permission in 90 days it must be deemed that permission is refused and an appeal must be made,” he noted. “We have to switch the approval process.”

Managing director of the Ex-Im Bank Lisa Bell stressed that her institution had provided financial help to most of Jamaica’s big companies at some stage of their development and that Ex-Im Bank’s competitive rates had allowed some firms that would otherwise have gone under, to survive.

JTB’s Deputy Director Jason Hall pointed to the fact that Jamaica’s tourist arrivals — now at 3.2 million — had continued to grow despite the opposite trend within the region and elsewhere over the past few years, and that it was a tribute both to the quality of the hotels and hard promotional work.

The high degree of government inter-agency co-operation was also highlighted by the executive director of HEART/NTA, Dr Wayne Wesley. HEART, he noted, trained thousands of Jamaicans each year, so that JAMPRO and those within the tourism industry could have a skilled workforce that they could tap to meet investor needs.

The PAJ’s Beverley Williamson spoke of the positive impact that the Kingston Container Terminal and the ports of call for tourist ships that her agency had created were having on the private sector firms that relied on these services.

Also attending yesterday’s luncheon were representatives of the sponsors of the award programme and six of the eight members of the award selection committee. The sponsors: Digicel Jamaica, Scotiabank Jamaica, Supreme Ventures, Cari-Med and its sister company Kirk Distributors, and Appleton Rum.

The members of the award committee in attendance were Professor Neville Ying, Dr Clement Jackson, Fred Smith, Charles Ross, Audrey Hinchcliffe, and Ian Neita. The other two are: Ambassador Audrey Marks and Gassan Azan.

The luncheon was chaired by Moses Jackson, the founder of the award programme and chairman of the award selection committee.

Danville Walker, the managing director of the Observer newspaper, welcomed the guests to the luncheon.

The Business Leader Award presentation will be held on Sunday, December 1 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel beginning at 6:00 pm. The formal presentation will be preceded by cocktails at 4:30 pm.