Raising over $50 million in capital since its inception, the Jamaica Social Stock Exchange (JSSE) is seeking to ramp up its efforts, with ambitions to attract over 20 new projects across various registered social enterprises within the next five years.

Social enterprises are businesses which focus on the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit and whose mission is to solve social, cultural, economic or environmental problems at the community or national level.

“We want to be able over the next year, 2023, up to 2027, to get as many as 25 new projects and to raise more capital for social enterprises. These projects can cover any area along the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations,” said Nora Blake, manager of the JSSE, speaking to the Jamaica Observer this week.

The social investment exchange, launched back in 2019, as a platform to raise fund for non-profit entities, has to date sought funding for over five social enterprises across diverse projects areas ranging from music and culture, violence and suicide prevention and support for the disabled community. This, it is has done working with companies such as JaMin Music Studio, Alpha School of Music, Choose Life International, Praise Jamaica Foundation, and Deaf Can!.

Deaf Can! which became the first to list on the social exchange after securing approximately $7.5 million in donations from the NCB Group, remains the only one of the five enterprises to list so far.

Legislation is now being prepared — the Social Enterprise Act — which will allow these entities to offer shares for sale.

Planning to embark on a major collaboration with the Private Sector Organsiation of Jamaica (PSOJ) over the next three to four years under the social transformation and renewal (STAR) project, Blake said the exchange will seek to raise over $600 million in funding, the most it has been tasked to date to mobilise. The project led by the PSOJ is aimed at reshaping and transforming a number of violence producing communities.

“This project will take up a lot of our resources and bandwidth and we will be heavily focused on it but not to the exclusion of the other projects that would usually come in,” Blake told the Business Observer.

Clamouring for greater usage and uptake of the services offered by the JSSE, which operates similar to that of crowd funding sites, Blake, like managing director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) Marlene Street Forrest, encouraged more support from the Diaspora. Street Forrest, in presenting at the Jamaica 60 Diaspora Conference held last week told members that the stock exchange through its different markets, was also available for them to raise funds, grow businesses and to invest.

“There is that big element of confidence and trust and we want to bridge that gap between persons back home and members of the Diaspora. Accountability and transparency are big deals for the social stock exchange, so when they invest in a project that is listed on the stock exchange, they can breathe confidently knowing what is happening with their donations, as the reporting and monetary processes and the oversight is there to ensure that level of efficiency,” Blake added.

Recently attracting grants of over US$900,000 from the IDB Lab and its parent company, the JSE to strengthen capacity, Blake said the social stock exchange has been given a further boost towards developing the country’s social sector. Through a number of initiatives the entity is also taking steps to secure additional funding for projects which it otherwise secures from local and international corporates, individuals and private companies.

“On this platform, we think that we can help to enhance the contributions made towards Jamaica’s social development. We want to see balanced holistic development where it’s not just the economy that is doing well, but people’s lives and socio-economic needs being met,” Blake said.