Creatives urged to register with Companies Office, JIPO

 

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Senator Aubyn Hill is encouraging more members of the creative sector to register with the Companies Office of Jamaica.

 

Speaking at a recent media briefing at the ministry's New Kingston office, Senator Hill also urged creatives to register with the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) to secure protection for their work. 

 

"They don't understand the importance of a) registering your content with another of our agencies, JIPO, and then registering a company to protect your activities. So that's one area, and I know [Culture and Entertainment Minister Olivia Grange] shares that view and we wish that we'd have a lot more people from the entertainment business coming in to register. 

 

"We see a lot more entrepreneurs from the MSME registering. They make castor oil, they make hair oil, they make all kinds of stuff, and they are registering their companies because we are out there with them, and many of them when we go on the road show, they come right to the Companies Office and register right there at the road show," he pointed out.

 

Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Commerce, Sancia Bennett Templer, said people can access many opportunities once they become registered, including access to credit for their businesses.

 

"There are a lot of benefits that come with formalisation of your company and that includes the fact that many of the NGOs that work and provide technical assistance, financial assistance, they require you to be a registered company. Going to the bank to get a loan, dealing with any lending institution invariably, they are going to require you to be a registered company. Getting the support from this ministry, we have 76 services that we as a ministry and our portfolio agencies provide for companies," she outlined.