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MITEC Fosters Small Business Development
Fostering and developing small and medium-sized enterprises
was one of the focus areas for the Ministry of Industry, Technology, Energy and
Commerce (MITEC) in 2006, while the introduction of the Electronic Transactions
Bill was considered a significant development for the commerce sector.
Small Business Development
Two pilot
projects - the Small Business Incubator Project and the Community-based
Production Centres (CPCs) - were introduced to further enhance the development
of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The overall
goal of the Small Business Incubation Project was to facilitate the creation of
employment opportunities while the CPCs employed persons from the general
community and facilitated private
business and employment creation.
In keeping
with the focus on small business development, the Jamaica Business Development
Centre (JBDC), in July, launched the Jamaica Business Information Centre
Project, which provided technical expertise and business support for micro,
small and medium-sized clients. The $19 million project involved setting up
information centres across the island, with the main hub located at the Camp
Road headquarters of the JBDC.
The main
objective was to offer business development guidance to entrepreneurs, advice
and support they need to build their businesses. The centres would also offer
e-business services including e- business information, e-commerce and
e-marketing.
Throughout
the year, the JBDC also embarked on a series of activities aimed at equipping
entrepreneurs with the necessary tools to benefit from the staging of ICC
Cricket World Cup 2007, which will be held in Jamaica.
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