分类： business

KINGSTON, Jamaica — As micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) across Jamaica continue to grapple with overlapping economic and climate shocks, the head of the country’s Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA) is pushing for targeted, accelerated expansion of technical support for these businesses, framing the move as the missing critical piece of the government’s broader national economic recovery and expansion agenda.

Cordell Williams, president of the YEA, laid out the organization’s position in a recent public statement, noting that while Jamaica has already established a solid foundational framework to support business recovery following the devastation of Hurricane Melissa, the nation must go further to close readiness gaps that leave many MSMEs locked out of existing opportunities.

Right now, businesses across the island are still picking up operations after Hurricane Melissa, all while absorbing spiking operational costs tied to the ongoing global oil crisis and facing growing frequency of climate-related disruptions that threaten stability. Williams explained that the Jamaican government has already done critical work to lay the groundwork for MSME growth, rolling out financing options, post-disaster recovery grants, and targeted opportunity creation programs for small businesses. But technical assistance, she argues, is the necessary layer that turns these foundational investments into tangible, widespread gains.

The YEA publicly recognized the government’s ongoing commitment to MSME recovery and expansion. Current initiatives include post-disaster recovery financing and direct grant support, as well as expanded access to low-interest capital through state-backed institutions like the Development Bank of Jamaica and the EXIM Bank of Jamaica. Williams described these existing programs as both impactful and essential, saying they clearly demonstrate the government’s dedication to helping MSMEs move from recovery to long-term growth.

Even with these achievements, however, Williams highlighted a persistent gap: while access to opportunities such as financing, public procurement contracts, and international export markets is expanding, a large share of MSMEs still lack the capacity to fully participate in these spaces.

“Too often, we set a table of opportunity for small businesses, but too many are unable to take a seat and benefit,” Williams explained. “This is not a failure of willingness from business owners—it is a failure of readiness, rooted in unaddressed gaps in capacity and support.”

Common barriers that MSMEs face, she noted, include the prohibitive cost of developing formal business plans, compiling required financial documentation, and preparing audited financial statements—all requirements to access existing government support and financing options. Many small business operators simply do not have the upfront capital to cover these costs, leaving them locked out even when support is officially available.

Williams stressed that technical assistance should not be viewed as an optional add-on to government policy. Instead, it should be framed as a core strategic enabler, as well as a critical tool for both risk management and change management in today’s unstable economic and climate environment.

“Technical assistance is far more than a peripheral support mechanism—it is the backbone that makes all other MSME policies work,” she said.

Looking back at past outcomes, Williams noted that targeted technical assistance has repeatedly delivered measurable results: it has boosted MSME readiness to access loans and financing, encouraged small business formalization by helping owners complete registration requirements to participate in public programs, and even supported the growth of Jamaica’s local business services sector.

Against the backdrop of repeated global economic shocks and growing climate disruptions, Williams argued that the role of technical assistance is even more critical today than in years past.

Most MSMEs operate with very limited internal capacity and stretched teams, she explained. Owners do not have the spare time or in-house expertise to tackle the work of upgrading operations, meeting compliance requirements, or restructuring for resilience on their own. Technical assistance fills this gap by giving small businesses access to external specialized expertise, allowing them to outsource critical functions, meet program requirements, and keep moving forward with growth.

Building on hard lessons learned through the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams emphasized that intentional investment in MSME resilience is now a national priority. As part of broader national goals for economic resilience and long-term sustainability, MSMEs need support to crisis-proof their operations. This includes help to re-evaluate outdated business models, diversify revenue streams and target new markets, adopt digital tools to streamline processes, and strengthen overall financial management practices—all changes that technical assistance can help facilitate.

In a bold reimagining of what a bookstore can be in the digital age, audiobook industry leader Audible has opened what it claims is the world’s first “bookless bookstore” in New York City’s Manhattan Lower East Side, launching a one-month pop-up experience as audiobooks continue their explosive growth across the United States.\n\nUnlike traditional brick-and-mortar bookshops, this space—branded the Audible Story House—features no printed page stacks, no dog-eared paperbacks, and no quiet rustle of turning pages. Instead, the Amazon-owned subsidiary has transformed the venue into a physical hub dedicated exclusively to the immersive world of audio storytelling. During a pre-opening press preview this Thursday, Audible CEO Bob Carrigan described the concept as an unconventional, slightly wild project that demanded significant creative vision to bring to fruition.\n\n“Our goal with this month-long pop-up is to translate the audiobook experience into a tangible, social environment where visitors can browse content and connect with fellow storytelling fans,” Carrigan explained of the venture.\n\nThe timing of the launch aligns with staggering industry growth tracked by the Audio Publishers Association (APA), which reported that total U.S. audiobook sales hit $2.22 billion in 2024—nearly double the total recorded just five years earlier. This steep upward trend reflects a broader consumer shift toward on-the-go, immersive digital content that has cemented audiobooks as a major player in the publishing market.\n\nInside the Story House, shelves are stocked not with bound books, but with “story tiles” — compact audiobook-enabled tablets that visitors can insert into dedicated players to listen to short content excerpts through headphones. Once a listener finds a title they enjoy, they can access the full work directly through the Audible mobile app. As the dominant platform in the global audiobook space, Audible operates a flexible business model that includes paid monthly subscriptions, individual title purchases, and complimentary access to select works for all Amazon account holders.\n\nThe venue also includes unique features designed for different listening preferences: a dedicated speaker-equipped room for group, headphone-free listening sessions, and a custom “Listening Bar” staffed by trained “Story Tenders.” Per Audible’s official press materials, these guides work one-on-one with visitors to curate audiobook recommendations that match each guest’s personal tastes and interests.\n\nBeyond showcasing audiobooks as a medium, the project also taps into the growing consumer demand for in-person offline experiences and community building in an increasingly digital world. “Audible Story House draws on the warm nostalgia and communal spirit of traditional book culture, while updating that experience entirely for today’s audio-first era,” the company statement noted.\n

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Fresh trade data published by Jamaica’s official statistics agency has painted a stark picture of the country’s widening merchandise trade imbalance for the full calendar year 2025, revealing export earnings that fell far short of the value of goods brought into the country.

Released Friday by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, widely known as STATIN, the agency’s latest International Merchandise Trade briefing laid out the full scope of the 2025 trade position: Jamaica’s total import spending reached US$7.52 billion, while total export revenue hit just US$1.65 billion — a gap that leaves the island nation with one of its most lopsided trade balances in recent years.

When broken down, the data shows that for every dollar Jamaica spent importing goods in 2025, just 22 cents was generated through export sales. That marks a noticeable drop from 2024, when the ratio stood at 26 cents of export earnings for every dollar of imports, also called the export-to-import coverage ratio.

A closer look at year-over-year changes shows the imbalance is growing: total 2025 exports fell 13.4% compared to the US$1.91 billion recorded in 2024. STATIN attributes most of this decline to a steep 20.4% drop in the export value of crude materials excluding energy products.

On the import side, meanwhile, the total value of goods brought into Jamaica rose 3.2% year-over-year, climbing from US$7.29 billion in 2024 to the 2025 total. According to STATIN’s analysis, this uptick was driven by higher incoming shipments of two key categories: raw materials and intermediate goods, which rose 10.5%, and consumer goods, which saw a 6.2% annual increase.

The report also outlined Jamaica’s top trade relationships for 2025. The United States, China, Brazil, Japan, and Trinidad & Tobago remained the island’s five largest sources of imported goods. Combined, Jamaica spent US$4.68 billion on imports from these five markets in 2025, a 5% increase from the US$4.45 billion spent on imports from the same group in 2024.

For exports, the top five destination markets in 2025 were the United States, the Russian Federation, Iceland, Canada, and the Netherlands. However, total export revenue from these key markets dropped sharply by 20% year-over-year, falling to US$1.43 billion in 2025.

On an early Saturday morning in Washington D.C., budget carrier Spirit Airlines—famous for its signature bright yellow aircraft—announced an immediate end to all global operations, ending last-ditch negotiations with creditors and the White House that failed to secure a financial lifeline for the struggling airline.

The sudden collapse came on the heels of a dramatic spike in jet fuel prices triggered by regional tensions in the Middle East. In a formal statement, Spirit confirmed all flights were canceled effective immediately, that customer service operations would cease, and that the company had begun the process of winding down its entire business. The low-cost carrier emphasized that it would honor its commitment to issuing refunds to passengers with unused tickets.

Founded in 1992 as one of the first budget airlines in the United States, Spirit had carried 28 million domestic and international passengers between February 2025 and January 2026, according to federal transportation data. But the company had teetered on the edge of insolvency for years, entering bankruptcy protection first in November 2024 and again in August 2025. As recently as late February, leadership announced a tentative debt restructuring agreement that raised hopes it would exit bankruptcy by early summer.

Those hopes quickly unraveled just days later, when military conflict between the U.S.-Israel coalition and Iran led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global chokepoint for oil shipments. The disruption sent jet fuel prices skyrocketing, worsening Spirit’s already precarious financial position. Last-minute talks between company representatives, major creditors, and the Trump administration broke down in the overnight hours before the shutdown announcement, after creditors rejected the terms of a proposed government-backed bailout that would have given the White House an ownership stake in the reorganized company.

In the wake of the shutdown announcement, major U.S. air carriers including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and JetBlue Airways moved quickly to launch emergency assistance for thousands of passengers who woke Saturday to find their booked Spirit flights had been canceled. The competing carriers introduced deeply discounted “rescue fares” for stranded travelers, and announced plans to add extra flights or swap in larger aircraft on routes where Spirit held a large market share.

Beyond supporting stranded passengers, major airlines also moved quickly to offer employment to Spirit’s roughly 7,500 workers, who were left jobless by the sudden shutdown. Union leaders representing Spirit pilots and ground staff harshly criticized the collapse of the rescue deal, noting that the brunt of the fallout would fall on frontline workers and their local communities, not corporate boardrooms.

“ The pain of this decision will not be felt in boardrooms. It will be felt by pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, dispatchers, and ground crews, and by the families and communities that depend on them,” the Air Line Pilots Association said in a statement responding to the shutdown.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy defended the Trump administration’s handling of the crisis during a Saturday press conference at Newark Liberty International Airport, insisting that President Trump had pushed aggressively to find a path to keep Spirit operating. Duffy pinned ultimate responsibility for the collapse on creditors, who refused to accept the administration’s bailout terms, and added that the federal government did not have unallocated funds available for a half-billion dollar industry bailout. He also blamed the prior Biden administration for blocking a proposed merger between Spirit and JetBlue in March 2024, a move Duffy said left Spirit weakened and unable to absorb subsequent market shocks.

For many passengers, the shutdown has already upended long-planned travel. Sixty-year-old Florida resident Ramon, who had been scheduled to fly to Honduras this week to visit family, told AFP he and his son saw early reports of Spirit’s financial trouble but declined an earlier refund offer because replacement tickets on other carriers cost $1,000 per passenger, far more than they could afford. The pair now plans to wait for their Spirit refund before rebooking travel for early June.

Industry analysts say Spirit’s shutdown will have long-lasting impacts on U.S. air travel. Bradley Akubuiro, a crisis management expert at Bully Pulpit International, noted that while the sudden spike in fuel prices was the immediate trigger for Spirit’s collapse, the carrier had been in a fragile financial position for years. More importantly, Akubuiro said, the loss of Spirit removes one of the most powerful sources of downward pressure on airfares across the U.S. market, a shift that could lead to higher average ticket prices for all travelers in coming months.