The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), the nation’s premier business development support agency joins the International Trade Centre and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) to observe MSME Day, celebrated on June 27 each year.
MSME Day 2018 is being recognized under the theme The Youth Dimension and as such is dedicated to youth and will cover topics such as youth entrepreneurship and youth employment.
MSME Day highlights the strong contribution of businesses worldwide to livelihoods, communities and economies, and the need to support MSMEs towards their success. It also advocates the importance of MSMEs in youth employment; raise awareness around the skills needed by youth to acquire decent jobs and raise awareness around youth entrepreneurship.
According to the ITC, MSMEs are major job providers and catalysts for growth. They remain a critical force in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). MSMEs promote innovation, creativity and decent work for all. The private sector drives jobs growth, accounting for 87% of total employment in 2016. Four in five new formal jobs created in emerging markets are among MSMEs.
Globally, over 66 million youth are unemployed and 145 million young workers live in poverty. Youth unemployment is at least three times higher than that of adults. A mismatch in skills and labour market requirements means that many young people face difficulties in securing a job.
The key message behind this year’s theme for MSME Day is that young entrepreneurs are more active in high-growth sectors, are more likely to hire other young employees and pay higher wages than ‘older’ firms. Youth-led enterprises can trigger youth-led job creation and it has been proven that young people show higher levels of entrepreneurial initiative than adults do.
Follow JBDC’s social media pages throughout the day and join us in the celebration of youth entrepreneurs.
