WHILE leaders continue to wrestle with how best to phase the reopening of the economy and manage the health risk of the COVID-19 crisis, we must also use this opportunity to fundamentally reset Jamaica.

Let’s be real, living in Jamaica is rough for most Jamaicans. We continuously see that when the best and brightest graduate from our universities each year and their first choice is to migrate to other countries.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jamaica already suffered from intense income and social inequality, not to mention violent crime. The pandemic just exposed the country’s existing fault lines in an even harsher way. Why just reopen to the old? Why not reset to a more inclusive new?

The World Economic Forum charged us Young Global Leaders to think through such a reset for our respective countries. Growing inequality has been fuelling class, race and gender inequality globally, leading to despair, anger and distrust. We can use this moment to create a different and better future.

With the partial lockdown, 700,000 Jamaicans who earned the national minimum wage ($7,200 per week) or just above that were left with reduced or no income for almost three months. Many of them worked for small or medium-sized businesses, in homes, or were micro-entrepreneurs themselves.

The Planning Institute of Jamaica’s projections of a further 12-14 per cent contraction in the economy that is already in negative growth speaks volumes. It likely incorporates unemployment projections and the continued impact on MSMEs. If we reset with a nurturing ecosystem for the micro and small business sector we can positively impact over 60 per cent of the working population (or previously working).

This reset should include a meaningful focus on the informal sector, which accounts for 40 per cent of GDP. This sector is dynamic and includes individual workers such as street vendors, small-farm workers, retail salespeople, musicians, DJs, domestic workers, and owners of small businesses and microenterprises.

As I worked with community members and local organisations in central Kingston, I saw first-hand how some of these workers and their families were the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, women who successfully took care of their families did so operating stalls outside schools, selling snacks and drinks. They suffered an immediate fallout when schools closed in March. These go-getters want to pivot.

Also, many little shops across inner-city and rural Jamaica want to reopen but they have no liquidity to buy goods to restart their micro business. Most were self-financed as they could not access the formal banks. Each player needs a relatively small injection to start again, and many can turn $40,000 into a going enterprise.

We often read stories of international organisations giving the Government funding for small businesses. However, because the majority of small and micro businesses are informal, the impact of these funds has been limited. Available data indicate that only 16.6 per cent of Development Bank of Jamaica loans went to the informal sector, and for formal banks it was only four per cent of their disbursement. Many small and micro-entrepreneurs don’t know what support is available, and when they try to access it the application process is beyond the reach of most.

Such existing funds could be channelled through microfinance institutions (at lower interest rates) and Social Development Commission officers assigned to communities islandwide. Required for eligibility: name, location, contact number, TRN and indication (verified by local elected and civic leaders) that they were in business for more than two years.

Small companies could be provided with ‘forgiveable loans’ based on the number of employees the business rehires and keeps. These loans would have to provide sufficient working capital to get the entities going again.

Determining the right solutions to reignite different segments of the MSME sector requires active engagement and collaboration in building a better future. Let’s use this opportunity.

— Imani Duncan-Price is a PNP spokeswoman on industry, competitiveness and global logistics, Eisenhower Fellow and former senator. Email feedback to fullticipation@gmail.com