Formalisation doesn’t stop at business registration – JBDC
THE JAMAICA Business Development Corporation (JBDC) steered 207 of 255 informal business to registration and formalisation for the period April 2022 to March 2023 alone. This saw the agency achieving one of its major quality objectives for the fiscal year: to transition at least 50 cent of unregistered clients within six months of them entering the Business Incubator Programme.
Melissa Barrett, manager of the Business Advisory Services Unit at the JBDC, says, “We emphasise business registration with the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) because that allows businesses to access opening bank accounts and other opportunities, but formalisation doesn’t stop at business registration.”
All businesses operating in Jamaica must be registered with a COJ under the Business Name Act of 1934 and the Companies (Amendment Act) of 2013. Though this registration allows businesses to be in good standing with the law, without a keen understanding of the business-formalisation process, businesses are guaranteed to be in trouble. The business-development expert is concerned that too many entrepreneurs perceive formalisation to be a one-step process. “For JBDC, formalisation means assisting entrepreneurs with meeting regulatory requirements both internationally and locally, which allows them to access opportunities that support their businesses from start-up right through to growth and expansion,” she said.
Barrett stresses that “while formalisation starts at entry, it continues throughout the entire business process, where, as the business scales, anything that they need to be doing that follows international or local best practices we make them aware of it and assist them directly or through referrals to get them the necessary support”. The JBDC works collaboratively with government agencies and the private sector to foster development of an enabling environment for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Barrett is encouraging entrepreneurs to register for the JBDC’s first training for 2024 – the Fundamentals of Business Workshop. The four-module online course will cover Business Formalisation & Entrepreneurial Mindset, Value Proposition & Design Thinking, Marketing Fundamentals, and Start-up Financing and Costing. More details can be seen on the agency’s website at www.jbdc.net or by sending an email to workshops@jbdc.net.