Minister of Industry, Investment, and Commerce Senator Aubyn Hill is urging financial institutions to find innovative ways to structure financing arrangements for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that export goods and services.

“For all the banks, you out there looking at MSMEs, I want you to move all those MSMEs debt that are in export to the top of your pile and find innovative ways to structure the facilities they need to build their businesses,” he said.

Hill made to call during his address at the grand opening of the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) agro-processing incubator on Monday, November 13, at the JBDC Incubator Resource Centre at 76 Marcus Garvey Drive, Kingston 13.

“You have to find innovative ways to structure financial arrangements so that exporters can get the plus that they need, they need good packaging, they need good equipment,” he added.

He underscored that his ministry has given productive input relief to MSMEs valued at J$277.7 billion over the last three years.

This was done through the Government’s Productive Inputs Relief (PIR) Scheme, which allows duty-free importation of specific items intended for productive use. The minister also urged other MSMEs to take advantage of the scheme.

Hill further underscored that there are some 42,000 active MSMEs locally, which contribute to between 60 to 70 per cent of the labour force. MSMEs also contribute to 44 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).