Over 600 local economic initiatives (LEIs) and business owners (own account workers) have benefitted from grant funding totalling $160 million under the Local Economic Development Support Programme (LEDSP) since 2017.
Director of Local Economic Development and Community Projects at the Social Development Commission (SDC), Avril Ranger, tells JIS News that the funds have been used by the recipients to improve their business operations.
She explains that there are two types of grant facilities offered under the LEDSP. These are the SDC Local Economic Development (LED) Grant and the Special Entrepreneurship Grant.
“To access the SDC LED grant, we do have criteria. A call for grant proposal is normally issued via our website, along with the print media. One of the key things for this grant is that our local economic initiatives are working or affiliated with governance structures in their particular community… meaning the Community Development Committee (CDC),” the Director states.
“The idea here is that our LEIs are linked to and encouraged to give back to their communities. The support given to communities by the small business operator spans from capacity building to financial support.” she adds.
Ms. Ranger says through the SDC LED Grant, LEIs can access up to $250,000, which can be used to assist in purchasing equipment to enhance business operations.
“Also, the grant can be used to engage in marketing opportunities, ascertaining business registration, purchasing protective gear, raw materials, equipment, and business development apparatus,” she further informs.
For the Special Entrepreneurship Grant, Ms. Ranger explains that business owners are identified at the community level for this facility, adding that the provision can be used to procure small equipment and materials that can enhance the operations of enterprises.
“They can access… $60,000 to $80,000 for this grant. To further enhance this effort, the Commission offers training opportunities to these persons in subject areas such as customer service and bookkeeping. Importantly, we at the SDC assist them to complete the grant application form as part of our support service,” she states.
“This Special Entrepreneurship Grant offer has been expanding since its inception in 2022, because there are quite a few emerging small business operators that need or require business development support services, and we are happy that this gap was identified and we are addressing same. So, we continue to build on the LEDSP as it relates to the grant facilities annually,” the Director adds.
Meanwhile, Ms. Ranger says the SDC receives significant support in executing the Local Economic Development Support Programme islandwide.
Among the partners are the Ministries of Local Government and Community Development, and Industry, Investment and Commerce; Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ); Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ); Scientific Research Council (SRC); National Compliance and Regulatory Authority (NCRA); HEART/NSTA Trust; Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), and Municipal Corporations.
“These stakeholders have assisted in relation to ensuring that [persons engaged in] LEIs are trained and certified as business operators, [and] improving in terms of their quality assurance and regulatory compliance. Furthermore, they assist with research and development, and providing additional marketing, promotional and networking opportunities,” Ms. Ranger states.
For fiscal year 2024/25, the SDC intends to identify 769 additional Special Entrepreneurship Grant beneficiaries.