A kaleidoscope of colours and a drumming fanfare fit for royalty was the backdrop against which the grand opening of the Jamaica Business Development Center’s (JBDC) Incubation and Resource center took place on Saturday, April 12, 2008.  Beautifully bedecked in colours of orange, blue, green and yellow, the setting provided the perfect opportunity for public and private sector entities to meet on one common ground in a bid to continue the improvement of businesses defined as Micro, Small and Medium-Sized.

The afternoon’s activities kicked off at approximately 3:00 pm with the arrival of Guest Speaker and Prime Minister, The Hon. Bruce Golding.  The programme ran smoothly with an opening greeting and welcome from Chief Executive Officer of the JBDC, Valerie Veira, who lauded the efforts of the government for assisting in the drive to expand the reach of the JBDC.  Greetings also came from the Minister of Industry, Investment & Commerce, The Hon. Karl Samuda.

In his presentation, Prime Minister Bruce Golding urged small business entrepreneurs to take advantage of not only the new Centre but also of the opportunities now being afforded with improvement programmes particularly the European Partnership Agreement (EPA).  According to the Prime Minister, with the wide disparity in population, Jamaica could benefit tremendously from marketing, promoting and selling its products in a country with a GDP in excess of US$17,000.00

The JBDC Incubation and Resource Centre has been established with the objective to support the sustainability of businesses in the Micro, Small and Medium-sized sector.  The Centre will provide hand-holding and ‘incubation’ services for start-up and existing small businesses.  This means that small entrepreneurs will be guided through the process of setting up and formalizing their business activities.  Additionally, the Centre will provide physical incubation space to a selection of micro enterprises to give them a ‘jump-start’ in establishing their own businesses.
The centre is located at the Garmex Freezone Complex on Marcus Garvey Drive and is housed on a 20,000 square foot space.  Among the services to be provided are; business and technical services including business plan writing, specialized training and workshops and business consultations.  Technical services will include product development which will take some entrepreneurs from business concept to market, as well as product development for items such as food, fashion and craft to international standards.

The grand opening also hosted its first exhibition with a collection of products and services which spanned fashion, food, finance, technology, craft and wellness.  Among the companies that participated are; Digicel, National Export-Import Bank, JN Small Business Loans, the National Commercial Bank, Singer, Heart School of Cosmetology, Reve Cosmetics, Jamaica Intellectual Property Office, Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica and Things Jamaican, JBDC’s retail outlet which showcased various authentic craft products and condiments.

Contact:          Sancia Campbell/Racquel Jones
                        PR Unit
                        Jamaica Business Development Centre
                        Tel: 928-5161-5
                        Fax: 928-8626