AT least US$6.3 million has been earmarked by JMMB Bank for women-owned or led SMEs (WSMEs) seeking capital to assist them in the creation and retention of jobs and to scale their businesses. This represents 30 per cent of the recent US$20-million loan agreement between FinDev Canada and JMMB Bank, in support of Jamaican SMEs.

“This funding to JMMB Bank, our first transaction in the Caribbean, should give a significant boost to Jamaican SMEs looking for capital to expand operations, and retain or create local jobs,” said Paulo Martelli, VP and chief investments officer of FinDev Canada.

“[It is] a part of the agency’s COVID recovery strategy to provide capital resources to financial institutions so that they can directly fund businesses within the markets they know best,” outlined the FinDev Canada executive.

This strategy is in line with FinDev Canada’s mandate as a subsidiary of Development Finance Institute Canada Inc, to provide financial services to the private sector in developing countries with the aim of combating poverty through economic growth by focusing on three main topics — economic development through job creation, women’s economic empowerment, and climate change mitigation.

Women entrepreneurs are important contributors to the country’s gross domestic product and job creation. A study commissioned by the Development Bank of Jamaica in 2019 found that Jamaica’s micro and small business sector was dominated by women, and that microbusinesses were largely started by women educated to high school level.

This thrust to allocate a part of its funding to WSMEs complements the bank’s current lending, with approximately 34 per cent women-owned SMEs as part of its loan portfolio.

Jerome Smalling, CEO of JMMB Bank, said the loan agreement is in keeping with another gender-based lending initiative dubbed ‘Her Wealth,’ created by JMMB Group in 2017 with the aim of leveraging the huge potential market opportunity for growth of this market segment, by catering to the unique financial needs of women and filling the gaps perceived in the financial sector.

In keeping with its continued commitment to specially support WSMEs, the bank signed an agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in 2021 that would see JMMB Bank off-lending 20 per cent of the funds, or a US$7-million loan to back small businesses led by women.

JMMB Bank is also dedicated to empowering women in its workforce and providing equal opportunities to all employees. As evidence of this, the subsidiary has a strong representation of women across the organisation, with 33 per cent at the board level, 15 per cent at management, and 69 per cent at the team level.

“This partnership underscores our commitment to assist SMEs to scale and grow their businesses by providing holistic solutions to support them throughout their business life cycle, as we recognise that access to affordable financial solutions play a key role in business operation and growth, which will augur well for the country’s development,” said Smalling.

He noted that this move is in line with the group’s strategy to further add value to SMEs and builds on previous agreements with international partners such as the IDB Invest, to bolster funding to SMEs.