Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) operators will soon be able to use their intellectual property (IP) as collateral to access loans from financial institutions, said Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) Executive Director Lilyclaire Bellamy during an interview on Thursday (January 26).

According to Bellamy, the Security Interests in Personal Property Act, 2013, makes provisions for businesses to tap into a more comprehensive range of collateral options besides land, including, inventory, accounts receivables, and intellectual property to access secured loans and offset limitation challenges faced by MSMEs when accessing financing.

In support of the implementation of the Act, JIPO partnered with key stakeholders, Inter-American Development Bank, Caribbena Development Bank and the Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility to embark on a pilot project in March 2021, aimed at training evaluators to assess the value of IP for small businesses.

The project, titled ‘Strengthening the Intellectual Property (IP) Ecosystem to Increase Innovation, Competitiveness, and Growth of Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Jamaica’, is expected to be completed by March 2023.

The initiative has an overarching goal of supporting the Act’s implementation by addressing gaps in Jamaica’s IP ecosystem, to create the conditions for IP commercialisation and collateralisation.