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On Tuesday, December 13, 2022, Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM) and the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to signify a strategic partnership to boost entrepreneurship and Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) through the provision of resources which will assist businesses with improving their profitability and sustainability.

MSBM as the premier Business School in the region, with a rich tradition of providing high-calibre business and management programmes, offers a number of Masters Programmes to provide its graduate students with the tools needed to provide technical assistance to businesses. Several of these programmes, including the internationally accredited MBA, comprise of a compulsory Field Project which facilitates graduate students interacting with industry stakeholders to identify innovative solutions and approaches to solving real business problems, thereby providing a practical application of the theories learnt in the programme.

JBDC, is a leading entity in the provision of business support services for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in Jamaica, and provides business and technical support as well as business development services to those MSMEs.

Both organisations are committed to a sustainable future and to improving the social, economic, and environmental well-being of the communities in which they do business. The partnership is intended to strengthen the growth and development of the MSME sector.

In support of the partnership, Dr David McBean, Executive Director MSBM, stated “this is a very significant alliance as it promotes the MSBM’s commitment to a sustainable future and the boosting of the small business sector as an engine of economic growth. The timing of the partnership is particularly meaningful as the MSBM celebrates a significant milestone this year of ten years since the merger of the former Mona School of Business and Management and the Department of Management Studies, two formidable forerunners with a rich tradition of providing the highest calibre of business and management education impacting the business landscape of Jamaica and the region.”

Mrs. Valrie Viera, JBDC Chief Executive Officer, in lauding the collaboration, stated “This partnership is significant for JBDC as it reflects the core of our mission of providing information, combined with practical application for clients. It is our expectation that both the students and client companies will benefit from the intervention and that innovative solutions will be designed for issues identified. JBDC anticipates excellent results.”

Underscoring the relevance of the agreement, Academic Director for Graduate Programmes, Dr Indianna Minto-Coy noted “MSMEs are important to the Jamaican economy with implications for meeting sustainable development goals, including ending poverty, delivering jobs and growth, and reducing inequality. This partnership is therefore, an opportunity for the MSBM to assist these critical actors towards the growth of enterprise and entrepreneurship, while offering students opportunities to develop technical competencies that will redound to the Jamaican economy.”

The partnership will see groups of graduate students from MSBM being assigned to undertake a specific project or projects for the MSMEs who are part of the JBDC network, with the aim of enhancing the operations of the entities by applying the knowledge and skills acquired during the students’ course of study.

 

ABOUT MSBM

Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM) is the premier Business School in the region and produces graduates that are ready to make an impactful contribution to Caribbean development. The School is commemorating a significant milestone this year as it is the 10th Anniversary of the merger of two formidable forerunners - Mona School of Business and the Department of Management Studies to form Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM).

MSBM offers a diverse suite of globally competitive professional development, undergraduate and graduate degree programmes which include the Master in Business Administration (MBA) which is internationally accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA). MSBM complements its unique academic programmes with cutting edge consultancy services and public policy research, the principal business objective being to provide decision makers with expert advice for handling their most critical strategic issues.

As a part of The University of the West Indies (UWI), ranked in the top 1.5% of universities worldwide, MSBM is a key plank of The UWI Mona’s value proposition to its constituents in Jamaica and the region. 

 

ABOUT JBDC

The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) was established in 2001 as the premier government agency providing business development services to Jamaican Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)…’From Concept to Market’. JBDC provides guidance for business start-ups and expansion, offering business advice and consultation, research services, business monitoring, training and capacity building, project management services, financial advice, design and product development as well as market penetration support and access. The organisation which operates within the ambit of the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Commerce (MIIC), strives to continually fuel the local economy through its services and programmes designed to support the growth and development of the MSME sector.