Above: Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister Dr Christopher Tufton (JIS Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Jamaica Promotions Corporation and the Development Bank of Jamaica Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding yesterday on a $20 million loan facility to improve investment in the country’s Information and Communications Technology sector.

The agreement is aimed at supporting the expansion of so-called Business Process Outsourcing. The facility will be administered by the DBJ in collaboration with JAMPRO.

Investment Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said he hoped the facility would help increase the government’s support to the more than 26 BPO operators in the country, aiming at “the formation of a vibrant industry association [which] we are expecting to launch hopefully before the end of this year.”

Earlier this month, the government announced that a large tech company would be coming to Jamaica, reportedly from the United States.

The government is planning to help finance the development of 350,000 square feet of ICT-ready space in the country, something he said could generate as many as 10,000 new jobs in the sector.

The line of credit will be funded by a loan from the Petro Caribe Development Fund, which has been designated for development projects.

Entrepreneurs can access a maximum of $5 million from that loan per project, representing 70 percent of the total project cost.

“The facilities, which are to be constructed under this loan scheme, must be used for ICT/BPO projects for the duration of the loan,” Tufton said.