Competing views are emerging on what continues to block access to financing for Jamaica’s small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs): Is it high interest rates, burdensome documentation, or commercial banks sidelining low-interest loan facilities? That debate took centre stage at the Re-align Business and Investment Conference, held last week at Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, where business stakeholders dissected the persistent challenges undermining SME growth, despite the presence of several funding initiatives.
“I’m appealing to the banks to reduce their interest rates. When you reduce interest rates, more people will borrow more money. So we’re joining the call with the minister of finance and the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce to reduce interest rates so that our struggling SMEs will be able to pay their bills,” said Small Business Association of Jamaica President Garnett Reid.
