DBJ offers financial help to SMEs
THE Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) is to disburse $2.7 million for the preparation of business documents for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) under the Voucher for Technical Assistance project. In May, the DBJ introduced the grant project with the aim of providing technical assistance to SMEs encountering structural problems when trying to access funds from financial institutions.
The project will provide SMEs with electronically generated grant vouchers that can be cashed in for services related to financial management, mentoring and coaching, business process improvement, preparation of business plans, financial statements, strategic plans and marketing plans.
Currently, SMEs are allowed vouchers of up to $300,000, reducing the cost of processing the related documents by up to 70 per cent. Upon approval of the voucher by the financial institutions, SMEs can receive the technical assistance required at the DBJ’s business development offices.
“To date, 13 vouchers have been issued by DBJ’s Approved Financial Institutions, the majority of which are for the preparation of financial statements,” the DBJ told the Jamaica Observer in an e-mailed response.
It is expected that the business owners who have received these vouchers will be able to access loans of up to $110 million supporting approximately $159 million in investments, according to the DBJ.
“These figures represent loans that they would not have been able to access without this technical assistance and, in the process, their credit worthiness is enhanced,” the bank stated.
However, the majority of the voucher recipients are in various stages of accessing the services recommended by the financial institutions.
The Voucher for Technical Assistance is currently being conducted as a $15 million pilot project by the DBJ. The first six months of the project were used to sensitise stakeholders and train business bankers, according to DBJ.
An evaluation of the pilot phase will be done to inform the bank’s decision on how the initiative may be expanded.
“The DBJ may decide to include other services or eliminate those which are not in demand,” the bank said.
The Development Bank of Jamaica on Oxford Road in Kingston.