NEW opportunities are emerging for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Jamaica and across the Caribbean through a growing partnership between the Youth Entrepreneurs Association of Jamaica (YEA) and the Pan-African Leadership Institute (PALI) based in Accra, Ghana. According to YEA’s president, Cordell Williams, these new opportunities are centred on access to capital and capacity-building for local entrepreneurs through connections with African investors, business associations, and entrepreneurial networks.

“There are greater opportunities in the service industry than in any other industry, and tech, IT and services would be where the majority of the opportunities are for small businesses,” said Williams.

Textile and fashion were mentioned as additional industries, along with manufacturing, that will most likely benefit from these partnerships. Currently, 48 Jamaican executive students are actively working with PALI as it seeks to expand its offering to the Caribbean. During a recent visit to Accra, Ghana, Williams met with several investors, business organisations, and private-sector leaders to explore partnerships aimed at expanding financing, investment, and trade opportunities for MSMEs across Jamaica and the Caribbean. These discussions form part of a broader effort to build stronger economic bridges between Africa and the Caribbean through entrepreneurship and private-sector collaboration. The engagements are expected to lead to several Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) that will support greater access to finance, cross-border investment, and market opportunities for MSMEs while strengthening economic ties across the African Diaspora. The YEA told the business week that the form in which these connections between Caribbean entrepreneurs and African financiers and trade opportunities will be revealed through these pending MOUs.

This comes even as the government of Jamaica, within the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, deepens trade and investment connections with Ghana, opening new pathways for Jamaican businesses, particularly in services, energy, and digital technology. Key initiatives include Jampro-led business missions, a new chamber of commerce, and potential visa waivers to facilitate easier business travel between the two nations. But even as trade missions take place by the ministry, Williams noted that many of those opportunities are focused on larger SMEs; as such, the YEA is not moving to duplicate the works of the ministry but rather helping to fill gaps for those businesses that fall outside the scope of those government-led initiatives.

“What we are trying to concentrate on is building out the small enterprises mostly and those who wouldn’t be able to participate in those larger-scale trading shops,” she said.

The YEA classifies a micro institution as one earning $15 million or less on average per year, and a small micro institution would be earning up to $75 million, and those are the groups the YEA is aiming to assist. The collaboration between PALI and the YEA has been steadily building since 2020 and focuses on strengthening entrepreneurial leadership, expanding access to business networks, and creating new pathways for investment, trade, and financing between Africa and the Caribbean. Through the partnership, Caribbean MSME leaders have been able to access leadership scholarships, training programmes, and international networking opportunities offered by PALI, while also sharing their own experiences in entrepreneurship and enterprise development with counterparts across the African continent.