PSOJ Initiatives for Business Recovery
Things have been rough for the economy and, by extension, your business. What are some initiatives to assist with the economic recovery of your business? Mark Tracey, Project Executive for the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica’s Access to Finance for SME Project appeared on #MoneyMovesJa to tell us how you and your business can have a smoother financial path.
PSOJ’s Access to Finance for SMEs Project was launched in March 2019 with the aim of assisting micro and small businesses in accessing credit. This was done through collaborative efforts among bank CEOs, loan originators, credit risk specialists, regulators, as well as representatives from the credit bureaus, the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, and Fisheries. A 14 member panel stakeholder arrangement was formed to champion access to finance for small businesses in a more efficient and dynamic way.
“In two years we have had a repository of at least 1000 small businesses that have signed up to continue,” said Tracey. “We would have had a dialogue with helping them along the channel,” he added.
Recently, the PSOJ has worked towards making the process of opening bank accounts less rigorous for small businesses.
“A lot of small businesses have been helped in terms of creating a more friendly ecosystem with the implementation of a number of small business centers within the bank,” explained Tracey.
Additionally, the PSOJ has pooled resources into training front-line workers around how they can advance conversations with small businesses, helping them to understand the small businesses better so that they can serve them better.
“COVID is the biggest entrepreneur of them all,” said Tracey.” It has forced persons to think outside of the box in terms of how they conduct business on a day-to-day basis,” he added.
In terms of the PSOJ’s initiative, they have pivoted to now look more deeply around eCommerce, online technology, and the servicing of goods to persons on an ongoing basis. For example, the ‘Let’s Go Digital’ conference in early March was a public-private sector initiative that aims to transform Jamaican MSMEs with an objective to significantly increase the digitization of MSMEs by the end of 2021.
“We are looking to see how businesses can now graduate from just thinking physical to online presence to give services and present their goods through technological solutions,” stated Tracey. He urges businesses to visit their online portal www.smallbusinessportal.com to learn more about how they can go from fear of technology to an advanced agile, technologically capable business.
Your business may be facing unprecedented challenges due to the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. It’s important that you take advantage of the opportunities to allow you to cross this chasm of uncertainty to sustainable viability during and post-COVID.
Visit EXIM Bank’s Business Advisory Service at:
https://eximbankja.com
