JN Small Business Loans (JNSBL) has started to process the early stages of loan applications on its website to speed up its turnaround time for financing customers and broaden its reach across the business sector.

What’s more, the company aims to completely process loans online by the end of the year.

The modernised website — jnsbl.com — is also expected to appeal more to a growing number of younger and tech savvy persons, who are seeking financing to launch their own operations, according to Philip Bernard.

“Although internet access in homes is not as high as mobile telephone penetration,” said the general manager of JNSBL “we are aware that a vast number of Jamaicans are accessing the internet via mobile gadgets.”

Mobile cellular subscription for Jamaica according to the World Bank was 97 per 100 people in 2012, while the Economic and Social Survey prepared by the Planning Institute of Jamaica placed mobile penetration at 98.4 per cent.

However, mobile broadband penetration is low, according to the Broadband Commission for Digital Development at 1.6 per 100 people, although penetration is strengthening.

“We are aware that the landscape of micro and small business is changing, and while it is not as rapid as in developed countries, there is a growing tech industry, and our entrepreneurs are not only becoming younger, but they are moving away from traditional media to access information and financing,” he maintained.

He said it was therefore important for JNSBL to position itself in this new environment to reach an increasingly sophisticated market.

“As a loan company we also need to flatten the barriers to access, especially with the passing of the new Securities in Personal Interest Act, which means people can now use a range of assets as collateral,”said Bernard, who underscored that the new law was likely to energise entrepreneurs who had given up on doing business. “This avenue allows our clients to start their application without having to call or visit us. And, once the application is submitted, a field officer will contact the client, speak with them about the application in terms of the status and possibility for providing financing.”

Users of jnsbl.com can also access the company’s crowd-funding platform at ISupportJamaica.com from the JNSBL homepage, as well as information about all of its products, services and initiatives.

“In the end, our intention is to not only take the company into the 21st century, but, also to make financing available to a broader base of Jamaicans, which is what micro and small financing should be about,” said Bernard.