September 2015 Issue Business View Caribbean

18 September 2015 - Business View Caribbean “From the beginning, it was always envisioned that we would be a company, in the sense that we are more autonomous than if we were part of a ministry. For ex- ample, we are autonomous in that we can drive our own processes. We have that little bit more room to maneuver and to develop programs in a different kind of way. There’s not a company like JBDC. How we’re structured and how we do what we do is a very inno- vative model, even from the first day, 14 years ago.” Davis concurs: “The government owns other Limited Liability Companies but in terms of functionality and mandate there is a uniqueness to us.” JBDC has two revenue streams. “The main one comes from the government of Jamaica, and we also are re- quired to earn a portion of our revenue,” says Veira. “So we provide valuable services which we charge for. We manage programs, many of them from internation- al agencies like the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Union, and so on. Of course, there’s a management fee attached to that. But the reason that we always will be on the govern- ment’s budget is because we are charged with devel- opment, and development is always supported by the government.” JBDC’s focus is mainly on the productive aspect of MSMEs, “meaning that we have a particular interest in the development of that component of the sector that will be producing, instead of trading on imported items,” Veira notes. “We do a lot of work in the man- ufacturing sector. We still provide services to those people who are in trade and distribution, but we are particularly focused on the productive aspect of the sector, including the creative industries and other emerging industries. “Our main entry point is our business advisory unit,