The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and Honey Bun Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to undertake a micro enterprise business development and growth monitoring initiative.

Addressing the MOU signing ceremony at PIOJ’s Oxford Road offices in Kingston, on Thursday (April 30), PIOJ Director General, Dr. Wayne Henry, said the two-year pilot study will monitor the growth and development of 50 community businesses that are classified as nano, micro or small.

These enterprises were identified under the Government’s Community Renewal Programme (CRP) as being in need of targeted support that would enable them to scale up, access relevant support and position themselves competitively within the micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) ecosystem.

The CRP was established in 2011 as a multi-level, integrated intervention for coordinating and enhancing service delivery among 100 of the most volatile and vulnerable communities in Jamaica.

The Honey Bun Foundation’s business diagnostic tool, the GAPP App, will be utilised to monitor, analyse and identify gaps to inform growth along the key stages of the business life cycle.

“Stage one is the launch or startup, and here the business is established, research and development is conducted and in some instances finalised and initial marketing begins. Stage two speaks to growth, and here the focus is on scaling operations and customer acquisition,” Dr. Henry explained.

He shared that in stage three, competitors with weaker business models are shaken out, while stronger ones prepare for maturity.

“Stage four speaks to maturity where profits are at their peak but market saturation may lead to lower margins, while stage five speaks to decline and renewal,” he said.

Dr. Henry reasoned that it is important to recognise that while a business can grow without developing, this often leads to inefficient scaling.

He pointed out that sustainable success requires both growth to gain momentum and development to manage it.

“This is the fundamental intent of this partnership – to see these businesses sustain,” the PIOJ Director General said.

General Manager of Honey Bun Foundation, Nashauna Lalah, who gave an overview and demo of the Gapp App, said it will show MSMEs what the gaps are in their business and direct them where to go to fill these gaps.

“It’s like your report card. Now, the survey really takes three minutes and after that, it just tells you where your weakness is. Now, when you get your analysis, it’s colour-coded. So, the ones that are in red, this is what you need to attend to right now, these are your problem areas. The ones that are in yellow, keep an eye on them and the ones that are in green, you’re pretty good, but still maintain what you’ve already established,” Mrs. Lalah explained.

She added that the application is free and it is recommended that surveys are conducted monthly to monitor business progress.