Five additional business incubators will be established over the next two years, which will provide much-needed business services and support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSMEs) operators.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Floyd Green, said the facilities will be built by the Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ).

“We have already identified a space in Montego Bay,” he said, noting that incubators will be established outside of Kingston as part of efforts to spread business development services to other parishes.

He was speaking at the opening ceremony for the fifth staging of ‘Christmas in July’ at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on July 18.

Green noted that the incubators will enable entrepreneurs to grow their businesses at a low cost.

“A lot of MSMEs have said to us that they start at home with an idea in their kitchen or on their veranda, and when it’s time for them to grow, there is a difficulty accessing space so that they can scale up. We have a facility on Marcus Garvey Drive that’s oversubscribed; we have to get out into the rest of Jamaica,” he said.

Meanwhile, some 120 local producers of authentic Jamaican gift and souvenir items showcased their products and networked with corporate entities and various industry players at ‘Christmas in July’.

Christmas in July is a collaborative effort of the Tourism Linkages Network and its partners, Jamaica Promotions Corporation, Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association, Jamaica Business Development Corporation, and the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association.

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