The Jamaica Business Development Corporation has been mandated by the Government of Jamaica as the main agency responsible for the sustainable growth and development of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Sector in Jamaica. The JBDC in fulfilling its mandate has embarked on a number of initiatives with various agencies to foster the growth of the sector. Amid the new initiatives developed by the Centre is the Productive Integration of Micro-Enterprise in Jamaica Project (PIMJ).

What exactly is the Productive Integration of Micro-Enterprises in Jamaica (PIMJ) Project? The PIMJ is a technical cooperation project between the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC)/Government of Jamaica (GOJ) and the Inter-American Development Bank. The project will be implemented over a three year period which commenced on May 9, 2006. The project is valued at US $750,000 which entails a combination of cash and in kind contributions from the IDB-MIF contributions and the Government of Jamaica.

The project will be instrumental in assisting in the alleviation of some of the problems faced by the Craft and Agri-processing Sectors that are  include access to financing, weakness in their production processes, a lack of competitiveness and a deficiency in support institutions. 

Project Goal & Components
 The project aims to increase the competitiveness of Micro-Enterprises within the craft and Agri-processing (with a focus on fermented, confectioneries and dehydrated products) Sectors. The project has four components namely:

• Strengthening horizontal and vertical integration- which will strengthen the cooperation among MEs and suppliers of goods and services and intermediaries of   final products

• Upgrading of enterprises in the crafts and agri-processing sub sectors which is aimed at supporting the implementation of producer group action plans via   activities to improve and harmonize production practices, create a uniformed quality classification criteria, and obtain quality certificates as required.

• Strengthening the industry specific support systems for Craft and Agri-processing projects – This will strengthen the capacity of institutions offering training   technical assistance and services to MEs in the two (2) sub-sectors.

• Dissemination of the model – This component will seek to disseminate the adopted integration model, its outcomes and outputs to other productive sectors in   Jamaica

Project Beneficiaries
The beneficiaries of the project will be MSME’s from the Craft and Agri-processing (with special focus on confectionery, fermented and dehydrated products) Sectors.
 

Project Partners

The JBDC in its capacity as Executing Agency will be working with several partners to accomplish the objectives of the project. The partners of the project include the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), the Scientific Research Council (SRC), the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) and the National Environmental and Planning Agency (NEPA) these agencies will provide a combination of technical and in-kind support to the project.