MINISTER of Industry, Investment and Commerce Senator Aubyn Hill is hitting the road with a team to offer services, advice, and assistance to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) across the island.

Addressing the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday, Hill said his ministry is joining forces with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to stage a series of road shows targeting MSMEs.

“The first one is going to be on July 27 in Mandeville, [Manchester], then we are going to come back to Kingston, then we are going to Montego Bay, [St James], and Ocho Rios, [St Ann],” Hill told the media briefing.

He said many operators of MSMEs are unwilling to enter formal financial institutions, so the road shows are intended to take information and services to them.

“The IDB — Jamaica’s largest and really most magnanimous lending partner — has agreed to give us a grant of US$250,000, and the PS [Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce Sancia Bennett Templer] is here and she is putting up some of [the ministry’s] money,” added Hill.

He added that some major private sector entities will be participating in the roadshows as sponsors and the ministry is looking for other entities to join it on the road.

“So as we take the show to Manchester, to St Elizabeth, to St James and Trelawny, right across the country, not just Kingston, we are saying to MSMEs, whether you are in agriculture, whether you are in food processing… processing other materials that we export, or manufacturing, we are there to help you. And we are taking the road so that nobody has to get scared to enter the banks,” declared Hill.

According to Hill, several State entities, including the Bureau of Standards and the Companies Office of Jamaica, that have been established to assist business operators, will be on the road with his team.

“So they will get exposure, information, and some benefits as the PS carries her cheque book with her,” added Hill.

It is estimated that MSMEs account for 80 per cent of jobs in the Jamaican economy and contribute significantly to the country’s gross domestic product, employment and wealth creation, poverty alleviation, female employment, and social stability.

But despite the importance of MSMEs to the economy, there are a number of capacity constraints which prevent their full development.

These constraints include limited access to appropriate financing; limited technical, human, and institutional capacity; inadequate entrepreneurial skills; and high levels of informality.