Interest rates way too high for SMEs

BUSINESSMAN JOSEPH Matalon has said that targeting the universities as incubators will help to facilitate the growth and development of a new entrepreneurial class that can contribute meaningfully to economic growth and development in the Jamaica.

Data he cited showed that among its pairs, in the Caribbean and elsewhere, Jamaica, as a percentage of GDP, has the lowest level of domestic credit to the private sector. He is hoping that angel investing will help to turn things around.

He further reasoned that interest rates for small medium enterprises (SMEs) were way too high and were above the average of the comparatives they were looking at. First Angel Director Sandra Glasgow said that the investor network does not exist to provide funding for “mom-and-pop businesses” but to offer innovative business concepts with the sort of support that will enable it to grow and contribute to national development.

“Looking at the (investment) ecosystem, we are really focusing on companies that have the potential to grow into large businesses, employing people and generating revenues and profits, and contributing to the treasury, so we are not just here to fund mom-and-pop businesses; no, its really companies that have that potential to grow,” Glasgow stated. To date, First AngelJa members have invested nearly US$817,000 (about J$101 million) and are the leading investor network in the Caribbean.