MONTEGO BAY, St James — President of Global Services Association of Jamaica (GSAJ) Wayne Sinclair has welcomed initiatives being introduced by Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority (JSEZA) aimed at enhancing the ease of doing business in the sector.

Among the initiatives being lauded by Sinclair is the creation of a business accelerator centre in St James in the first quarter of next year.

“It is really going to allow for just a lot faster processing and a lot more direct access for companies down here [western Jamaica] than before. We used to have to go into Kingston to get certain things done, so that’s going to be a big, big, big convenience for us here in Montego Bay to not really have to go into Kingston to do a lot of the things that we used to have to do before,”” said Sinclair in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

He was responding to a presentation made by permanent secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Investment, and Commerce Sancia Bennett Templer, at the GSAJ President’’s Breakfast Forum on Thursday.

Sinclair said the centre will allow the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector to operate faster and more directly in relation to transactions that must be done with JSEZA.

He noted that while a lot of business is currently being done with JSEZA online, certain physical things must be taken into Kingston.

“Not having to do that just makes things a lot more easier and convenient for us, so that’s really a very positive development,” said Sinclair as he added that this will also minimise the loss of productivity.

““Anytime you have to spend two hours one way and two hours the other way on the highway, I mean, that’s really a day. So, if you’re based in Montego Bay and you have to go to Kingston for anything, you’re losing a minimum of a day’s worth of productivity — so the fact that we won’t lose that kind of time definitely means an increase in productivity for us,”” added Sinclair.

Bennett Templer had told the breakfast forum that JSEZA has implemented two online platform tools, the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System, and the Self Reporting Monitoring Instrument (SRMI), which are geared towards fast-tracking the submission of reports, documents and applications, as well as simplifying interactions, in an efficient and productive way between the authority and its clientèle.

“We are also currently working on improving the SRMI tool as we have heard the feedback on reporting timelines and requirements, and we will be addressing the same,”” said Bennett Templer.

She pointed out that through initiatives like the National Investment Policy and the Business Environment Reform Agenda (BERA), the Government is focused on removing bureaucratic bottlenecks, improving regulatory coherence, and advancing digital transformation to enhance the ease of doing business.

“This initiative stems from the Government’’s recognition that in order for Jamaica to achieve rapid economic growth we must become the most business-friendly and customer/citizen-focused country in the region,”” added Bennett Templer.

She further pointed to the establishment of a special working group, that is composed of public and private partners, to focus on how the Government can move the BPO sector forward amid the varying issues currently facing the industry.

Bennett Templer said the public-private approach is key to achieving stability and growth for the sector and realising the untapped potential of Jamaica’’s global digital services sector.

The permanent secretary told the forum that the Government is not shying away from the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as an emerging technology.

She noted that the Government established a National AI Task Force last year to provide an evidence-based foundation for the development of a national AI policy that is expected to leverage this emerging technology in order to improve productivity while ensuring safe applications and data security.

According to Bennett Templer, AI is expected to be integrated into sectors including health, agriculture, BPO and education, to enhance productivity.

“By actively supporting the development of technology-driven industries we are enabling the creation of high-paying, knowledge-based jobs by attracting foreign direct investment and retaining local talent.

“These efforts will also further position Jamaica as a regional hub for innovation, driving economic diversification and resilience. With these strategic initiatives Jamaica is not just participating in the digital revolution,– we are leading it and transforming challenges into opportunities for sustainable development,” said Bennett Templer.

“She [Bennett Templer] did mention that we have put together a special working group that is comprised of JSEZA, Jampro and the GSAJ where we meet on a regular basis to discuss all the issues that are facing the industry. That alone is something that is huge because it gives us, as an industry, a direct line with the Government, basically, for us to discuss the issues that are facing the industry — [and] that will make things a lot more reactive.

“So basically it puts the Government in a much quicker reactive position to adapt to the changes that we as an industry have,”” said Sinclair.

Through various initiatives implemented by the Government since 2019, employment in the BPO sector has increased from 41,000 in January 2019 to more than 50,000 in January 2024.