A $3 Million Investment to Make Micro & Small Businesses More Competitive

Ishmael Quiroz

The Economic Development Council is the bridge between the business community and the government and advocates for and supports policy reform to make it easier to do business in Belize. The MSME Enhancement Programme is the second phase of an initiative that will see G.O.B. invest some three million dollars and will make business more competitive and more affordable to operate in the formal sector.

Ishmael Quiroz, Executive Director, Economic Development Council

“We are talking about small businesses; people who may be doing plantain chips production or making fresh juices. But with a little value added in terms of improving the packaging, improving the quality of the product itself, they can actually potentially earn a lot more and develop and grow their businesses, and develop and grow their businesses, hire more employees, invest in machinery/equipment, get a credit history through small loans. And so the importance of this is that it is an opportunity to provide some relief for packaging materials which could then be invested so that businesses can grow.”

Duane Moody

“The value of this programme?”

Ishmael Quiroz

“In the initial assessment, when cabinet first looked at how much would be forgone, it was something to the tune of about six million dollars. In a first phase—there was a first phase of duty exemptions—that was done over the past two years and this is the second phase. So it is a smaller amount that government is actually investing to enable this to happen. So you are looking at about three million dollars, but the result will be that businesses will be able to afford, to invest, to be more creative and to then grow their businesses and grow the economy.”