Jamaica Business Development Corporation

4 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 9, ISSUE 7 JAMA I CA BUS INESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORAT ION and everything in between. “We have a business advisory team that processes ideas that people bring in,” says Veira. “No matter how minimum the thought. Our team is there to maximize that process; to help them understand that what they are talking about is a real business opportunity, or that it should be refashioned in some way, or abandoned totally if necessary.” The JBDC team help them build their capacity to operate as a business; to formalize and become part of the established system. Which opens a wide variety of benefits to them in the areas of marketing, finance, technical support, etc. Veira explains, “We have a commercial aspect MSME sector and to move us out of a situation where there was fragmented support. There was no real recognition that the sector was capable of making a contribution; they were there but not seen as significant contributors to national development – which was erroneous. So with help from the United Nations, a few of us from that division of JAMPRO established Jamaica Business Development Corporation.” With a mandate to lead the development of the MSME sector in Jamaica, the JBDC has evolved from 45 staff members to 123, and every day their portfolio expands. They take pride in providing a full service ‘From Concept to Market’