The Jamaica Technology and Digital Alliance (JTDA) is assisting local micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to navigate the e-commerce space through its website, Go-Digital, as part of a digital transformation push in that grouping.

“E-commerce is not just the process of payments, but being able to transact end-to-end business online,” JTDA President Stacey Hines shared.

“So it starts from the place of understanding how your business will function in an online environment [by] utilising the different e-commerce models that are available and also the different ways that you want to interact with your customer online through their customer journey,” she continued.

The e-commerce models are business to business (B2B), business to consumer (B2C), consumer to consumer (C2C) and consumer to business (C2B).

Hines, also founder of Epic Transformation, which provides e-commerce training, pointed out that a lot of the online technology people interact with are all components of e-commerce. However, she admitted that Jamaica is still not where it ought to be with e-commerce.

To this end, she believes the services and consultancy provided through the Go-Digital website will fill some of the existing gaps in knowledge.

Go-Digital is a collaborative project of the JTDA and the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) that provides users with an extensive listing of tech firms that offer digital payment solutions, business productivity tools, accounting and payroll software, and cybersecurity services.

The website, therefore, serves as an online marketplace that bring together all the local providers showcasing their digital technology goods and services and interested businesses that pay for services offered.

“We know upgrades in technology can be costly,” DBJ Managing Director Milverton Reynolds said, adding: “The pandemic has also made digital transformation essential for survival, so we are doing our part in supporting businesses as they make this transition.”

MSMEs can access the services advertised on www.godigitaljm.com with the financial assistance from the DBJ under the SERVE programme. Interested businesses can apply for the DBJ Go-Digital Voucher, a grant that will pay 100 per cent of the cost of the service or up to $300,000 for software and services received through providers on the website.

In addition to the grant, businesses may apply for the DBJ Go-Digital Loan, which is geared towards digital transformation. With financing up to $800,000 at a two per cent interest rate, MSMEs can use loans to acquire computer hardware, software and digital transformation services through any technology provider on the Go-Digital website. The loan is accessible through DBJ’s network of approved financial institutions.