President of the Small Business Association of Jamaica, Garnett Reid says the organization will be signing a memorandum of understanding with Lasco Financial Services this week to provide affordable financing for small businesses hit hard by Hurricane Melissa.
The agreement will focus on easing access to credit for cash-strapped operators whose businesses were devastated by the storm, he said.
Many small businesses have been forced to turn to private financial institutions like Lasco because of the high upfront costs associated with borrowing from the Development Bank of Jamaica and its approved financial institutions, Reid revealed.
He added that it can cost as much as $800,000 in upfront fees to access DBJ financing, even before factoring in the cost of producing the three years of audited financial statements required by those institutions.
He disclosed however that discussions are underway with the DBJ in an effort to allow those upfront fees to be rolled into the loan, so they won't have to be paid before funds are disbursed.
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