GARY ‘Butch’ Hendrickson, chairman and managing director of National Baking Company, has congratulated the seven nominees in this year’s Observer Business Leader Awards, and expressed the hope that their companies will continue to grow.

Hendrickson, whose family was joint winner with GraceKennedy in 2011 when the awards recognised businesses operating in Jamaica since Independence, also praised the nominees for listing on the Junior Stock Exchange, saying that the move is important for proper accounting.

“The fellows who went to the junior market, God bless them… it’s a good thing for your business, and that’s very important. One of the things that really made our business a success is our reporting systems. It is something we hold very dear to,” Hendrickson said.

Addressing the impact of the Business Leader Awards on his company and family, he continued: “To us it was a big deal. You may ask that, with all the other accolades that we have been blessed with, did this matter? Yes, it did.”

“I hope that these companies this year will continue to go on and do well. I don’t want it to be short-lived, because we’re not going to build the society and nation we want and dream about on stuff that isn’t long-term. Short-term has no real effect,” Hendrickson emphasised.

“I think we need to keep pushing for these MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) — even though some of the nominees this year are quite large — we have to grow the small business sector,” Hendrickson argued. “We have to find a way to get some good financing for them.”

He commended Scotiabank for its 125th SME Loan Fund and encouraged more attention in this area.

“I know the Government is not in a position to do this, but I’d love to see some more money put towards development banking from the public purse,” Hendrickson said. “It has to be a higher risk, it can’t be the same risk as the commercial banks [but] it is the price that the country has to pay, and it has done well in other countries.”

He also commended the Jamaica Observer on the Business Leader Awards, saying that it recognises the people who have taken risks and who have succeeded.

“We’re proud to be with the Observer on this one,” Hendrickson said.

The Business Leader Awards presentation takes place on Sunday, December 7, 2014 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.