Growth & Jobs | JSIF grants available for microenterprise operators in targeted communities

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) is providing grants of up to $100,000 to operators of microenterprises in targeted communities under its Integrated Community Development Project (ICDP II).

Eligible individuals must be between 18 and 30 years old and from the communities of Salt Spring, Anchovy, Norwood, and Mount Salem in St James; Treadlight in Clarendon; and August Town, Greenwich Town and Denham Town in Kingston and St Andrew.

Managing Director of JSIF Omar Sweeney told JIS News that the grant is being provided through cycle three of the Enterprise Youth Development Grant initiative, which is funded to the tune of $15 million.

“These are not cash grants, but [are] based on needs and what persons would point out as their difficulty. They may receive equipment, training in accounting and budgeting, managing the business, marketing, [and] customer service,” Sweeney explained.

He said that successful applicants can also receive support to “register themselves as a company”.

He is encouraging persons to apply, especially “if you have a business … and you think that you need an investment. Sometimes you just need a refrigerator, hairdryer, a vacuum or a power washer machine to allow your business to manoeuvre,” noting that they can also receive resources to make their businesses pivot.

He says if the support being provided will enable the business operator to employ an additional person, then that is a “big bonus in terms of being able to receive the grant”.

The deadline to apply for the grant is Friday, July 8. Additional details, including application requirements and forms, are available on the JSIF’s website at www.jsif.org.