PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller says the Government will continue to put supportive mechanisms in place to facilitate the growth and development of the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) sector.

“I give my commitment that we (the Government) will continue to engage micro, small, and medium-sized businesses. We will continue to create more opportunities for their growth and development,” Simpson Miller said.

She was addressing the 40th anniversary banquet of the Small Business Association of Jamaica at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Saturday.

The Government, she said, has increased its loan support to the sector, with $1.3 billion disbursed by the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) during the calendar year 2014. The figure represents a 14 per cent increase over the amount provided in 2013. For the financial year 2013/14, the DBJ provided $2.3 billion in loans for MSMEs. Some 1000 of those loans were disbursed through microfinancing institutions.

According to Simpson Miller, other public sector entities, including the Micro Investment Development Agency, continued to offer modest levels of funding to MSMEs, with the agency providing more than $150 million to the sector last year.

In addition to the increased loan support, the prime minister said the Government has embarked on new initiatives to help small businesses build their capacity.

These, she said, include increasing access to science and technology support through the Scientific Research Council and the Mobile Business Clinic initiative of the Jamaica Business Development Corporation.

“The National Competitiveness Council has also been driving reforms to remove obstacles to business. The work of the council has gone a far way in helping Jamaica achieve major ranking improvements for ease of doing business,” she said.

In addition, the prime minister said there have been major improvements in the process to start a business; paying taxes is now easier; access to credit has been increased with the promotion of the secured transactions framework; and the commercial court has been strengthened to improve the enforcement of contracts, and the protection of investors.

SMEs, added the prime minister, have also received support from the DBJ’s new two-year venture capital pilot programme, Innovation Grant From New Ideas to Entrepreneurship, which supports the creation and growth of new innovative firms in productive sectors.