Touting the contributions of its members to national growth and development, the Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA) is calling for more to be done to cushion the impacts of back-to-back catastrophic events which have weakened output and setback many of its smaller players.

President of the YEA Cordell Williams-Graham said the sector, which is still recovering from the spill-over effects of the COVID-19 pandemic such unstable inflation and higher interest rates, have further seen a compounding of these issues since the passing of Hurricane Beryl.

She said that with a vast majority of entrepreneurs falling within the micro category of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), an all-hands-on-deck approach will be needed to fuel wholesome recovery, build greater resilience and facilitate meaningful growth for members of the organisation who are often more vulnerable to shocks.

“The tight monetary and fiscal policy regime employed by the GOJ and what we have been able to achieve despite their implementation is commendable but not sustainable. The economy now needs a stimulus post-COVID and post-Beryl,” she told the Jamaica Observer as she advanced those calls for support recently.

She said that with the risk of a looming recession, following projections for which growth of Jamaica’s economy have been downgraded from 1.8 per cent to a range of -1.0 per cent to 0.5 per cent for FY2024/25, “Any other shock could be catastrophic for MSMEs who are most vulnerable and who often play the greatest role in productivity and economic growth.”

The YEA head said that while a number of initiatives have been rolled out to offer support such as the GEMINI and BIGEE grants, only a small fraction of these continue to trickle down to entrepreneurs, mainly because a majority of these programmes tend to focus on larger enterprises, thereby leaving a gap for micro and early stage businesses.

“Additionally the administration of many of the more impactful programmes are also routed through the banks, most of which through very bureaucratic processes often introduce onerous conditions for approval, creating further pain point for entrepreneurs which sometimes sees many of them left underserved,” she said to the Business Observer.

To this end, the president stressed the need for there to be more structured solutions for the sector which heavily contributes to gross domestic product output (GDP) and employment.

“The last major intervention that impacted micro to small businesses was the Voucher for Technical Assistance which dried up in 2021. In light of this, the YEA is concerned that at such a crucial time in our economic trajectory, there remains limited sustainable programmes to support entrepreneurs,” Williams-Graham further stated.

Citing entrepreneurship as one of those low-hanging fruits needed to advance productivity and growth, she said there is an immediate need to have structured, institutionalised and sustainable support if the country is to strengthen its partnership with players in the months and years ahead.

“We cannot just accept that many small businesses don’t make it past year two, but must instead do everything in our power to ensure that they do,” the YEA head said.

Advocating for more technical training and mentorship support, done through private sector and Diaspora collaborations, along with the increased use of technology and the simplification of regulatory and compliance processes to drive formalisation, diversified funding and the creation of a regional hub for entrepreneurship, the YEA head believes its members could be better served with improved capacity building.

“The Government, in particular, must set the tone by placing more emphasis on youth entrepreneurship, recognising it as a critical pathway to sustainable development and a key pillar in realising the now threatened Vision 2030 goals. They should also lead with more policy, tax and other incentives that will stimulate private investment in the space rather than trying to reinvent the wheels and doing it on their own,” Williams-Graham said.

The YEA, since its inception in 2006, said that as a non-governmental entity, it continues to push ahead with creating a number of training, mentorship support, funding and other developmental opportunities for entrepreneurs locally.

“Our core objective is focused on helping entrepreneurs to not only start but to formalise, streamline and scale their businesses in order to access opportunities that will help them to grow personally, professionally and commercially.

“As an organisation we recently restructured to include additional vice-presidents focused on parish development so as to reach entrepreneurs in the urban and rural spaces and we will be embarking on a key programme to bring more funding opportunities to our members which is to be announced at our Success Summit in November,” Williams-Graham said as she urged members to become more intentional and strategic about ensuring their own successes amid the harsh economic realities.

The upcoming YEA Summit and Digital Expo scheduled to be held at the Audi Showroom in Kingston will take place on November 16, 2024. Among the line-up of speakers are David Mullings, CEO of Blue Mahoe Capital, Tishauna Mullings of NexxStepp,Veekle’s Cherie Williams and many others. This year’s staging will be held under the theme: ‘The Entrepreneurial DRIVE: Diversification, Resilience, Investment, Virtual Economy and Sustainable Economy’.