KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Government says it is placing priority on ensuring that Jamaica’s small businesses will benefit from 20 per cent share of the Government’s procurement spend this year.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Floyd Green, who made the disclosure, noted that the process started late last year and will be increased this year.  

“For a very long time our small businesses have advocated that the government should use some of the resources that it puts into procurement to help drive and grow small businesses. The passage of the Government’s Public Procurement Guidelines will ensure that 20 per cent goes directly to small businesses,” Green said.

“It has been carved out and reserved for our business sector…if we direct our government spend into our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) then they will grow,” he added.

Green was speaking at the launch of Moody’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprises lending master class workshop, which was organised by the Business Works Collective in collaboration with the ministry’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Division and held at the ministry’s St Lucia offices in New Kingston yesterday.

The ministry noted that the estimated value of the Government procurement spend in 2014 stood at $59billion for goods and services.