Minister of Finance and the Public Service Fayval Williams is encouraging micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to register on the government public procurement system.

She explained that registering will allow MSMEs to benefit from the Government’s Public Procurement (Set‑Aside) Framework.

“They have to register, so that we know who they are in order to get them set up on the procurement system…and that work is on in earnest. We started out in Montego Bay this week, in terms of helping the firms to register. We will be going around the island helping companies to get on to the electronic platform,” Williams said.

“We will also ensure that within each ministry, we properly bring the procuring officers up to speed…make them become knowledgeable, because we are serious about this. We’re going to ensure that they have the tools…that they have no excuse. They can’t say ‘we don’t know who these companies are’, or ‘they’re not properly identified’, because that will be done for them through the procurement system that we have,” she added.

The minister made the statement during her address to the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Implementation of the Public Procurement (Set‑Asides) Framework, which reserves a portion of government contracts for Jamaican suppliers, will be advanced during fiscal year 2026/27.

Under the Public Procurement (Set‑Asides) Order, 2019, a Micro Enterprise is defined as having a turnover of less than $15 million, a Small Enterprise as having a turnover between $15 million and $75 million, and a Medium Enterprise as having a turnover ranging from $75 million to $425 million.