The Jamaica Business Development Centre (JBDC) believes that by adapting the United States Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) model Jamaica could see improvement in productivity and growth of the local business sector.

SBDC, which is the main source of technical assistance for small businesses in the US, has retained over 158,000 jobs, established 24,500 new businesses and generated fiscal revenue of over US$539 million ($60.9 billion) in that country. This has prompted the JBDC to have a model of the development centre implemented locally by the end of next month.

“We are not in a position to say when this will be officially implemented or launched, but await specific directives from the minister of industry who will announce its launch in short order,” chief executive officer of the JBDC Valerie Veira told the Jamaica Observer.

The centre will focus on three key areas that cover the needs of start-ups as well as established businesses. The programme will include free one-on-one confidential and long-term technical assistance for small businesses, group training focused on subjects of interest to small businesses and market research specifically tailored to meet clients’ needs.

The services should improve the productivity of small businesses, while generating economic impact that creates new jobs, increases revenues, strengthens and diversifies the formal economy and promotes stability and growth, according to the JBDC.

“The JBDC mandate currently focuses on providing business development support for MSMEs and it is the vision of our ministry to move to the SBDC model, which focuses on the growth of SMEs through the strengthening of their management systems,” Veira told the Business Observer.

“We will therefore broaden our core services to include the three key areas that cover the needs of start-ups and established businesses as outlined in the SBDC Model,” she added.

In 2012, the intervention of the small business development centre in the US resulted in the average business increasing its sales from 4.3 per cent to 18.9 per cent year over year. Similarly, small businesses also obtained US$3.4 billion in new financing, while benefiting from assistance in exporting their products or services.

Once the businesses started to see improvements in revenue and productivity, employment levels increased from 1.2 per cent to 13.6 per cent yearly, according to statistics presented by the JBDC.

The programme will require the general public, academics and the private sector to jointly invest efforts and funds in order to guarantee the sustainability of the programme, eliminate inefficiencies and work duplication. Additionally, model supervisors will evaluate the economic impact of the development centre on each business client to monitor its effect on local businesses.