Crump calls for more financial products for small businesses

WESTERN BUREAU:

President of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Davon Crump, has challenged BPM Financial Limited to tailor some of its products to offer a safety net for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs).

Crump, in the keynote address at the official opening of BPM Financial's Montego Bay branch at the LOJ Shopping Centre, indicated that many SMEs are fearful of the risk of competing with their counterparts.

"I am convinced that BPM Financial has the capability to implement the safeguards against risks in an effort to widen the net, allowing more medium and small enterprises to access all their services, including available loans."

The chamber head said that small businesses provided more than 80 per cent of employment opportunities in Jamaica, and dominated sectors such as entertainment, domestic agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism.

He also urged companies with similar operations to BPM to step up to the plate to assist these companies to remain viable.

"Truth be told, Jamaica is no different from the rest of the world in which small businesses vastly outnumber big businesses and are justly regarded as the main engine of economic growth, driving employment even while having to be more innovative in order to survive in a far more competitive space," he shared.

Strong gains for clients

BPM Financial's managing director, Peta-Rose Hall, said she was happy that the company, which defines its core business as portfolio managers, now had a foothold in the west, where it could continue to use innovation, creativity, and technology to ensure that it delivered strong gains for its clients.

"The core philosophy of the company is that each person can invest, no matter how small his or her income is, and our mission is to provide products that facilitate as many persons participating as possible."

Licensed as a securities dealer, investment manager, and pension-fund administrator, BPM Financial provides investment advice to corporate clients, individual clients, pension funds, and manages money-market and equity portfolios.

"The essence of what we do is to take your initial amount that you deposit and advise you as you add to it incrementally how to invest for maximum returns on your investment, so we are here for you," Hall said.