Entrepreneurs urged to register for FOROMIC 2016

Minister of Finance and Public Service Audley Shaw says that FOROMIC 2016, Latin America and the Caribbean's most important conference on microfinance and entrepreneurship, will play a key role in increasing access to financing for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Shaw, addressing the press launch for FOROMIC 2016 earlier this week, said the conference would also create opportunities for greater financial inclusion among these small businesses.

The finance minister said the development of the financial infrastructure for MSMEs is crucial to enabling "the potentially dynamic sector to grow and provided needed jobs".

Spearheaded and organised by the Inter-American Development Bank through its Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), FOROMIC 2016 will be held from October 24 to 26 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre under the theme 'Creating Opportunities Through Financial Inclusion'.

Experts in MSMEs, representatives from financial institutions, entrepreneurship associations, government officials, civil society leaders, and academics from more than 40 nations are expected to travel to Jamaica to attend the event.

TAKE ADVANTAGE

Shaw urged local entrepreneurs to take advantage of this major conference, which is being convened for the first time in Jamaica.

"I encourage all SME interests in Jamaica to register for FOROMIC 2016 and benefit from the phenomenal business opportunities that will be made available," he said.

When the first FOROMIC conference was held in 1998, the Latin America and Caribbean region had approximately 200 microfinance institutions serving 1.5 million clients. In large part, due to the work conducted by the MIF and other multilateral finance organisations, the region has developed one of the most productive and well-regarded microfinance sectors in the world, consisting of more than 1,000 institutions serving an estimated 20 million clients, and providing more than $37 billion in loans annually.

For more information on FOROMIC 2016, visit the website at FOROMIC.org.