ONLY about one per cent of the Government’s annual procurement spending currently reaches micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), a disparity Finance Minister Fayval Williams says the upgraded Government of Jamaica Electronic Procurement portal (GOJEP 2.0) is intended to address. The platform will increase MSME access to public contracts.

Speaking during Thursday’s launch of the updated digital procurement portal, Williams said the modernised system eliminates outdated technical requirements, and creates more opportunities for local businesses to access a share of the Government’s roughly $470-billion annual procurement spend.

“Let me put the scale in perspective. Each year, the Government of Jamaica spends roughly US$3 billion — translated into Jamaican dollars, that’s about $470 billion, depending on the currency at any point in time – and this procures goods, services, and works from the private sector. This is close to, I think, about 13 per cent of our GDP (gross domestic product). And yet, of that enormous sum, only about one per cent reaches our micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises,” the minister pointed out.