Family-owned businesses, FOBs, have been around for eons, even featuring in the Bible, starting with the business activities of Abel, who took care of the flocks, and Cain, who tilled the soil, as stated in the fourth chapter of Genesis.
Over time, FOBs have experienced tremendous growth and transformation to now form approximately 80 per cent of all businesses worldwide, and is a point of reference as a bastion of sustained resistance against harsh economic conditions.
FOBs are responsible for approximately 62 per cent of all wages, accounting for approximately 50 per cent of GDP and creating about 78 per cent of all new jobs in the United States; and they generate revenue equivalent to approximately 32 per cent of Jamaica’s GDP or economic output.
We ought to pause and salute the contribution of FOBs to the Jamaican economy, and invite those in the know to join in spreading the good news about FOBs.
The aforementioned statistics represent part of the output from peer-reviewed research, which has shown, inter alia, that FOBs form the foundation of many economies across the globe. Starting from our own ‘backyard’, findings from my research show that FOBs represent the ‘seat of entrepreneurship’ in Jamaica and the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean, and might even extend beyond it.
Within the context of these and other findings, one is a loss at the scant regard being given – meaning far from enough attention and resources – to this critical mass of businesses, by both government and decision-makers in the private sector.
There is time to correct this blunder; it’s not yet sunset for FOBs, with respect to the attention, resources and support they deserve. Over the next few months, we will discuss aspects of FOBs, with reference to the case of Jamaica and the English-speaking Caribbean, which, hopefully, will lead to a change in attitude and approach to this important category of Jamaican businesses.
Yes, I hear the shout of those in the know that it borders on the impossibility to have a complete coverage of FOBs in Jamaica, without a discussion of women-owned businesses, given the symbiotic relationship between the two. Let not your heart of being in the know be troubled; I share your view and intend to address this.
Article & Photo from: The Gleaner