KINGSTON, Jamaica – The philanthropic arm of the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) has been awarded a multimillion dollar grant by the United States Agency for International Development Agency (USAID) to undertake a ground-breaking social enterprise project, says JNBS Foundation Chairman, Earl Jarrett.
At the official signing of the memorandum of understanding at the JNBS Chief Office in Kingston yesterday (Oct. 19), the Social Enterprise Boost Initiative (SEBI) was heralded as a critical stride in the formalisation of businesses operating within the social economy, or third sector in Jamaica.
Mr. Jarrett explained that the three-year project aims to, “develop a mechanism for social businesses such as ‘The Source’, a chain of community resource centres across the island, to gain complete entry into the financial and legal structure of this viable third sector.”
This sector, he maintains, is making “considerable contributions to national employment, production and the gross domestic product throughout many nations around the globe.”
The Chairman argues that with Jamaica’s limited resources, formalisation of the social economy is an essential answer to many existing social problems. “By marrying the principles of economic growth and social service provision, these profit-centric businesses can achieve primarily social objectives while ensuring sustainability,” he said.
“Instead of a goal to maximize shareholder wealth, these social enterprises reinvest profits in their businesses for the benefit service delivery for their stakeholders and the wider community,” he explained.
Mr. Jarrett outlined that the pilot project will initially undertake activities to create an enabling environment by advocating and influencing clear industry standards and a public policy framework along with the development of a learning network for knowledge-sharing. The project will make ten existing social enterprises more efficient by providing them with capacity-building resource tools. And, thirdly, it will seek to improve the awareness and attitudes of the Jamaican public toward social businesses.
USAID’s Mission Director Karen Hilliard says that goals of SEBI are “directly in tandem” with the goals of the aid Agency’s Jamaica Mission, which seeks to “promote economic prosperity and sustainable development through investment in the people of Jamaica.”
She reiterated the Agency’s commitment to build the capacity of social enterprises to contribute to the national economy both directly, as economic providers; and indirectly, as examples of socially responsible businesses.
Karen Hilliard (left, seated), Mission Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Earl Jarrett (right, seated), Chairman of the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) Foundation, sign a memorandum of understanding between JNBS Foundation and USAID at the JNBS Chief Office on Wednesday, October 19. James Burrowes, (left, standing) Office Director, USAID and Saffrey Brown, General Manager, JNBS Foundation look on.
Commenting on the partnership with the JNBS Foundation, Mark Feierstein, USAID’s Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, said “These public-private partnerships are a powerful signal of the Jamaican business community’s commitment to the country’s long-term economic development.”
“No single donor can prepare young people for school or work, keep women and children healthy, or make a community economically viable. We need private sector partners like the Jamaica National Building Society to make our efforts truly transformational,” Feierstein added.
Saffrey Brown, General Manager of the JNBS Foundation advised that the project seeks to participate in progressing the Government’s Vision 2030 to make “Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business.”
She advised that the ten pilot businesses to be included in the project would be selected from six of the parishes with the highest crime levels across the island, as part of the JN Foundation’s mandate to support rural regeneration. This, she noted, “is of vital importance, as rural communities, which tend to experience higher levels of unemployment and poverty, will greatly benefit from the project.”
Miss Brown informed that SEBI will commence in January 2012.
(L-r) Karen Hilliard, Mission Director of the United States Agency for International Development; James Burrowes, Office Director, USAID; Saffrey Brown, General Manager, Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) Foundation and Earl Jarrett, Chairman JNBS Foundation exchange ideas after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Foundation and the aid agency at the JNBS Chief Office on Wednesday, October 19.
