General Manger of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, Marlene Street Forrest says following the recent partnership between the JSE and the Inter-American Development Bank, adjustments will be made to the Junior Market (if deemed necessary) to improve its functionality will be consistent with the needs of Jamaican SMEs.

Addressing last week’s JSE Stakeholder Engagement Session, she explained that while the existing Junior Market has “already proven to be a useful mechanism for businesses to access equity financing to expand their operations. However, the project will analyze the current framework of the Junior Market and introduce necessary adjustments in view of lessons and best practices from various parts of the world”.

Street Forrest says initiatives of the project, “Promoting Access to Equity Financing to SMEs through Jamaica Stock Exchange’s Junior Market”, will provide capacity-building for prospective SMEs so that they can comply with Junior Market requirements and implement the necessary steps to list, especially with respect to corporate governance”.

The project which ends in 2017 is expected to improve the growth of the number of Junior Market listings from the current 25 to 47 firms.

The JSE has started the provision of Capacity Building Support to a number of prospective listing companies to comply with Junior Market requirements and to implement the necessary steps to list.

The assistance includes the review and preparation of business plans and financial statements; and the instituting corporate governance framework for Small & Medium Sized Businesses