As the conversation of building back stronger post-Hurricane Melissa faces temperature shifts, what must not be lost on the decision-makers is the need to intentionally create a space to include micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) owners in the mix.

For this to be successfully executed there needs to be more than lip service paid to this push. The strictures that already exclude their involvement must be adjusted to facilitate inclusion.

A recent news item indicated that the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce is partnering with the Public Procurement Commission on a series of roadshows to sensitise MSMEs on how to benefit more from government contracts.

“The training sessions [are important] because it’s not something that they are doing in their everyday business. You don’t get up every day when you’re an entrepreneur and think about ‘how do I procure?’… So, to be able to participate in public procurement it requires training. We have trained some companies already, and we are committed to continue to train some companies in the SME sector to equip them to be able to take advantage of the set-aside opportunity,” said permanent secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce Sancia Bennett Templer.

This is a ringing acknowledgement that intentionality is crucial to the process of creating the pathways to involve MSMEs. It requires education and behaviour modification.

Mrs Bennett Templer was speaking at the launch of the Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) Growth and Resilience One-Day Working Conference on Wednesday at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

The conference was appropriately mounted under the theme ‘Rebuilding the MSME Sector: A National Imperative for 2026 and Beyond’.

She said that three training sessions have already been held, adding that some 1,700 companies have also benefited from training in information technology literacy and digitisation.

The Public Procurement (Set Asides) Order, 2019 reserves 20 per cent of contracts for MSMEs. This accounts for approximately $37 billion worth of contracts that are not fully taken up by the entities.

As the saying goes: ”The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” so the often overlooked elements to undergird such matters is seemingly being dealt with.

Workers in the ministries, departments, and agencies that execute the mandate of members of Cabinet can relay the many stories of the mismatch between policy pronouncements and reality. The stage is now set for this not to manifest — at least this time around.

Though speaking to the converted at the workshop, the permanent secretary charged: “I am going to encourage [small] business owners to come out, because when you come out, you meet other business owners. You can hear important information from presenters, you can interact with various agencies and departments of government and of the private sector that can provide you with pathways to growing your business.”

SBAJ President Garnett Reid noted that MSMEs are “the backbone of the Jamaican economy”. And with research numbers indicating that some 400,000 small business operators contribute annually approximately $1.3 trillion to the economy, this is not said in jest.

It is hoped that a review down the wicket will reveal the manifestation of the space being carved out for MSMEs and not just the pockets of the ‘big boys’ earning as the nation rebuilds.