Small and Medium Enterprise Development Project in Jamaica

IDG worked as a subcontractor to improve the Jamaican business environment, assist with SME development, and train Jamaican SMEs to compete in the global market. The project addressed regulatory reform, by aiming to simplify procedures for entrepreneurs to establish and operate businesses, and by assisting ministries and government departments in the design of clear sets of regulations and guidelines. IDG managed the development of lower-cost business solutions that are useful and useable for small enterprises, specifically information on prices, quality of production, and market opportunities. Technical issues for the project included production and plant organization, technology transfer, information technology, marketing, finance, and regulatory requirements. IDG also developed financial mechanisms for an increase in private funding to the micro and small business sector, mainly through expanding retail lending to MSMEs and introducing new lending instruments to attract private capital to the sector.