Chamber President Happy with G.O.B.’s Efforts to Promote MSMEs  

In his State of the Nation address earlier this week, Prime Minister John Briceño spoke about the government’s efforts to create better economic opportunities for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). He said that the government has enacted legislative amendments to its fiscal incentive programs. These programs have been updated to expand the range of eligible sectors and accommodate uptake among MSMEs. The PM used the digital services sector, or the B.P.O. sector, as now being able to apply specific features, such as work from home arrangements and on-site daycare for single mothers. Additionally, Prime Minister Briceño said that recently, the government introduced the Belize Economic Empowerment Program, where grant funding from the Caribbean Development Fund will provide eight hundred thousand dollars to ninety-three MSMEs. Along with this will come training and mentorship to ensure their sustainability. And to further support small businesses, small farmers and new homeowners, the PM said that the government is making affordable financing more accessible. These efforts, Meighan says are important for the development of a sector that represents a significant percentage of Belizean businesses.

 

Katherine Meighan, President, B.C.C.I.

“MSMEs are a very, very important part of our economy. I think it’s an important part of any economy, in my opinion. Because they really make up, they’re fuel. They’re a fuel for growth. They’re a fuel for innovation. They are a part of the entrepreneurial cycle. They also play a critical role, like some of these other industries, B.P.O.’s for instance, in the growing of the middle class. And the middle class in any economy, any community is significant because they’re the blood, if you want to say it that way. And so, I’m happy to see, wherever there are opportunities and incentives to encourage their continued growth. MSMEs need technical training and support. They need access to financing. They need support in many, many areas in terms of packaging, for instance, marketing. You can name quite a few. And what I also encourage and what I see, and this is something we share with all of our MSMEs that are members of the Chamber – we encourage them to come together, network, and identify what these opportunities are and not be fearful to jump on them and learn. The quicker they can formalize and develop themselves, the better off they will be.”