An agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment & Commerce, the JBDC is Jamaica’s premier business development organisation working collaboratively with government, private sector, as well as, academic, research and international communities.

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PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MARCH 16, 2022

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Barita Foundation returned to the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) Virtual Biz Zone on March 15, 2022 to encourage women to invest in their wealth and in themselves. The session was under the theme “Taking Stock: Women meet ROI (Return on Investments).

Anna Leah Reid, Programme Manager at Barita Foundation

Anna Leah Reid, Programme Manager at Barita Foundation laid the foundation for the importance of female entrepreneurs investing in their personal wealth and the growth of their businesses. She noted that “When you put money into an investment or a business endeavour, you need to know how much profit or loss your investment has earned.”

Continuing she said “Whatever you are pouring into should be earning for you. It is important to therefore have a roadmap for wealth creation. Plan, prepare and execute.” She went on to provide participants in the webinar with foundational knowledge in investments and emphasised that saving is not the same as investing. “A major difference between saving and investing is how you allocate, what you allocate short-term is considered savings while investing is for long-term,” she stated.

Anna Leah noted that women are investing in something whether they realise it or not. “Women have been investing. It is just that many have not yet learned to measure the return on their investment as yet. Women need to take stock of where they are investing their time, money and resources,” she said.

She added that studies show that though women are not spending on big ticket items, they are spending a lot on their homes and family. “Women can curtail the way they spend on their homes. Therefore it is important to have a plan, set a budget and stick to it as best as possible, this will help to save on spending which in turn can be invested and yield returns,” she said.

Ms. Reid went on to encourage women entrepreneurs to make substantial investments in themselves. “Invest in yourself, true self-care takes investment. Women can invest in themselves by giving their time and resources to their health, habits, networking, mastering skills, education, building streams of income and eliminating debt. These are not often what are predominantly understood as self-care activities but these are necessary investments a woman must make for herself, her future and business.”

Valerie Veira, Chief Executive Officer of JBDC

Chief Executive Officer of JBDC, Valerie Veira says the agency is keen on financial literacy as a means of empowering entrepreneurs to make smarter business decisions. “Having an understanding of areas like profit and loss puts the entrepreneur in a better position to assess the financial state of the business. JBDC is pleased to partner with Barita Foundation as we share a mutual interest in financial literacy and we believe the information provided is critical to business development,” she said.

With approximately 53% of its clientele being women entrepreneurs, Miss Veira says the JBDC is committed to empowering women so that more of them can step to the front of various spaces and industries in Jamaica.

The JBDC Virtual Biz Zone webinars are geared toward stimulating entrepreneurs within the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) sector. These sessions are held every Tuesday at 10:00am via Zoom. Interested persons are encouraged to join by registering at www.jbdc.net. The sessions can also be watched on JBDC’s YouTube channel.

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ABOUT

The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) was established in 2001 as the premier government agency providing business development services to Jamaican Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) ‘From Concept to Market’. JBDC provides guidance for business start-ups and expansion, offering business advice and consultation, research services, business monitoring, training and capacity building, project management services, financial advice, design and product development as well as market penetration support and access. The organisation which operates within the ambit of the Ministry of Industry, Investment & Commerce (MIIC), strives to continually fuel the local economy through its services and programmes designed to support the growth and development of the MSME sector.

Contact: Corporate Communications Unit

JBDC

Tel: 928-5161-5, exts 244, 274 or 277, SL: 930-8531

Fax: 938-2438

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Website: www.jbdc.net

Author

Corporate Communications