Patterson and PaulwellGOVERNMENT PLANS to establish new infrastructure to strengthen the competitiveness of the micro, small and medium-sized business sectors.
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, speaking at the start of a conference organised by JAMPRO's Productivity Centre at the Jamaica Conference Centre on October 18, emphasised the need to create and market products which were unique and through which the island could establish special niches in the world market.
He said the Government was assisting in the drive to push small businesses, not only through the technical support provided by the Productivity Centre, but by making $700 million available to small businesspersons through a number of concessionary loan programmes.
He said the administration was encouraged by a trend among small business people to move away from an "over-concentration on vending".
Minister of Industry, Commerce and Technology, Phillip Paulwell, challenged the sector to take advantage of the significant marketing opportunities provided by new technologies and globalisation.
He urged small and micro-businesses to look beyond the nation's borders and to "...seek to gain access to niche markets all over the world, and to use the emerging technology to market our goods and services."
