MINISTER of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Karl Samuda on Tuesday announced new definitions for micro, small and medium-sized (MSME) businesses operating in Jamaica.

Samuda told the House of Representatives that the new definitions were proposed by the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) and the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), to make the MSMEs more closely aligned with developments in the current business environment and in line with international standard definitions.

In the new definitions compiled by the ministry after a “limited” review of the 2013 policy to make it more relevant and current to the economic landscape for MSMEs, the caps were increased as follows: The cap on micro enterprises has been increased to annual sales turnover of $10 million to $15 million, from a cap of $5-$10 million, under the 2013 policy; the cap on small enterprises has been increased from $10-$50 million to $50-$75 million in annual sales; the cap on medium enterprises has been increased from $50-$150 million to $150-$425 million in annual sales turnover.

The turnover thresholds are considered a primary determinant in the definition of MSMEs, with employment acting only as a guide in the definition.

Samuda said that the revised policy is consistent with the Government’s commitment and efforts to have the document updated on a regular basis, to respond to changing socio-economic developments and dynamism in the MSME ecosystem.

“It is also consistent with repeated requests from key stakeholders to have a current and relevant enabling environment to drive growth and development in that sector,” he stated.

The updated review process took into consideration alignment with other national development policies, including: Vision 2030 and the Medium Term Economic Framework; as well as other legislative regulatory and programmatic developments within the MSME ecosystem since 2013.

A new priority area, social value creation, has been added following extensive consultations, he said. Social value creation takes into account the recent emergence of the role of social enterprises operating in the MSME space.

Samuda noted that while the updated 2017 policy was being tabled yesterday as a Green paper, the Ministry would be convening a major validation/consultation workshop, with a view to presenting the draft policy to all stakeholders and to present the final policy as a White Paper in Parliament at the end of current fiscal year, 2017/18.