MONTEGO BAY, St James — President of the Global Services Association of Jamaica (GSAJ), Wayne Sinclair, has welcomed initiatives introduced by the Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority (JSEZA) aimed at improving the ease of doing business in the sector.

Among the initiatives welcomed by Sinclair is the creation of a business acceleration center in St James in the first quarter of next year.

“This is really going to allow for much faster processing and much more direct access for businesses here (West Jamaica) than before. Before we had to go to Kingston to do certain things, so it will be very, very, very convenient for us here in Montego Bay to not really have to go to Kingston to do a lot of things that we used to do . have to do before,” Sinclair said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

He was responding to a presentation made by the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Industry, Investment and Trade, Sancia Bennett Templer, at the GSAJ President’s Breakfast on Thursday.

Sinclair said the center will enable the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector to operate faster and more directly in relation to the transactions that need to be carried out with JSEZA.

He noted that while a lot of business is currently done with JSEZA online, some physical things need to be brought to Kingston.

“Not having to do that makes things a lot easier and more convenient for us, so it’s really a very positive development,” Sinclair said, adding that it would also minimize lost productivity.

“ “Anytime you have to spend two hours one way and two hours the other on the highway, I mean, that’s really a day. So if you are based in Montego Bay and have to travel to Kingston for anything, you lose at least a day of productivity. The fact that we’re not wasting that kind of time certainly means an increase. in productivity for us,” added Sinclair.

Bennett Templer had said at the breakfast forum that JSEZA had implemented two online platform tools, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System and Automated Reporting Monitoring Instrument (SRMI), which aim to accelerate the submission of reports, documents and applications. , as well as simplifying interactions in an efficient and productive manner between the authority and its customers.

“We are also currently working on improving the SRMI tool, as we have heard the feedback on timelines and reporting requirements, and we will address the same,” Bennett Templer said.

She stressed that through initiatives such as the National Investment Policy and the Business Environment Reform Program (BERA), the government is working to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks, improve regulatory coherence and advancing digital transformation to make doing business easier.

“This initiative stems from the Government’s recognition that for Jamaica to achieve rapid economic growth, we must become the most business-friendly, customer- and citizen-focused country in the region,” Bennett added. Templer.

She further highlighted the creation of a special task force, comprising public and private partners, to focus on how the government can move the BPO sector forward amid the various issues currently facing the industry .

Bennett Templer said the public-private approach is essential to achieving stability and growth in the sector and realizing the untapped potential of Jamaica’s global digital services sector.

The permanent secretary told the forum that the government had no hesitation in using artificial intelligence (AI) as an emerging technology.

She noted that the government established a national AI taskforce last year to provide an evidence-based basis for the development of a national AI policy that should take advantage of this emerging technology in order to improve productivity while ensuring application and data security.

According to Bennett Templer, AI should be integrated into sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, BPO and education, to improve productivity.

“By actively supporting the development of technology-driven industries, we enable the creation of well-paying, knowledge-based jobs by attracting foreign direct investment and retaining local talent.

“These efforts will also further position Jamaica as a regional innovation hub, driving economic diversification and resilience. With these strategic initiatives, Jamaica is not only participating in the digital revolution, it is leading it and transforming challenges into opportunities for sustainable development,” said Bennett Templer.

“She (Bennett Templer) mentioned that we have established a special task force made up of JSEZA, Jampro and the GSAJ, where we meet regularly to discuss all the issues facing the industry. That in itself is a huge thing because it gives us, as an industry, a direct line to government, so we can discuss issues facing the industry – (and) it will make things much more reactive.

“Basically, it puts the government in a position to respond much more quickly to adapt to the changes we’re experiencing as an industry,” Sinclair said.

Thanks to various initiatives implemented by the government since 2019, employment in the BPO sector has increased from 41,000 in January 2019 to over 50,000 in January 2024.