JBDC model inspires St Lucia’s push for MSME body

A delegation from St Lucia’s Ministry of Commerce has completed a four-day study tour of the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), as eastern Caribbean island considers reshaping the institutional machinery that supports its micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

The visit, held from March 2 to 5, marks a deliberate shift in St Lucia’s thinking: away from a small, ministry-bound unit and towards a more autonomous agency modelled on Jamaica’s long-established approach.

St Lucia’s Permanent Secretary Sophia Henry said her government is reassessing the structure of its Small Business Development Centre (SBDC), which currently operates as a unit within the Department of Commerce.

“So currently in St Lucia, our Small Business Development Centre (SBDC), it’s a unit that falls under the Department of Commerce, and we believe that’s not the most efficient way to support our MSMEs,” Henry said. “So our new minister has given us the assignment to put together a concept note for the statutorisation of our Small Business Development Centre so that it can be an autonomous agency.

The SBDC model, first developed in the United States, has become the hemisphere’s most extensive SME-support network, with more than 1,100 centres and thousands of advisers. Introduced to the Caribbean through the Organisation of American States, it has been adapted by a number of regional governments. Jamaica’s version is widely seen as one of the more advanced, making it a natural case study for St Lucia.

“While we were doing our research, we discovered that Jamaica has an exceptional model that has been working. And hence we decided to visit Jamaica for this study tour so that we can better understand the framework that’s in place,” Henry said.

During the visit, the delegation met JBDC leadership and examined the workings of its Incubator and Resource Centre, Technical Services Unit, Marketing Services Unit, Business Advisory Services Unit and Project Management team. Jamaica has been applying the American SBDC methodology since launching SBDC Jamaica in 2015, integrating it into a broader structure that supports entrepreneurs from concept, to production, to market entry.

Henry said this full-journey approach stood out.

“We met with the Business Advisory Services Unit and we believe that the programmes that they have in place really take you from the concept to the market,” she said.

She added that the Marketing Services Unit left a strong impression.

“We were very, very impressed with the Marketing Services Unit because currently the structural framework we have at home does not have that component. I think that is very, very exceptional, the role that they do.”

Another feature that resonated with the St Lucian team was JBDC’s dedicated project management and partnerships function, which allows the agency to pursue funding opportunities without diverting frontline officers from their advisory work.

“To have a dedicated team implementing projects, scanning the globe for partnerships and funding, and monitoring project implementation, I think that is exceptional,” Henry said.

The delegation also toured the JBDC Incubator and Resource Centre on Marcus Garvey Drive, observing production facilities and the technical support channels available to early-stage firms. The integration of incubation under the same institutional roof as enterprise support was especially instructive.

“Coming to Jamaica, we realise that the two of them are part of the same body,” Henry said. “We believe that is excellent.”

She noted that the study tour has already influenced St Lucia’s policy direction.

“Our view of looking forward to a separate facility and a separate SBDC has changed,” she said. “What we look forward to now is to replicate that model whereby our facility would be under our Small Business Development Centre, similar to how it is with the Jamaica Business Development Corporation.”

The visit concluded with the delegation’s participation in the launch of JBDC’s online learning platform, JBDC Biz Wiz, designed to expand access to entrepreneurship training. Henry said the insights gathered will inform the concept note now being prepared to guide the restructuring of St Lucia’s enterprise support system.

“We believe it better suits the MSMEs being under that same umbrella,” she said. “So it’s definitely something that we would like to replicate.”

Jamaica was among five Caribbean states involved in the pilot phase of the regional SBDC programme. It now operates a network of 14 centres across the island, making its model a compelling example for St Lucia as it contemplates creating an autonomous agency of its own.