Prime Minister Golding says with the new trends in the economy, a new approach needs to be taken to think outside the box and to invest faith in people.

He said there are some business operators whom he described as the non-traditional businesses who do not speak the same language as the traditional banks. "They come from two different cultures and for a long time, these non-traditional borrowers have been isolated and excluded from the system."

Mr Golding was speaking at the launch of the Development Bank of Jamaica's (DBJ) PetroCaribe Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Energy Fund at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel on October 10. The DBJ has committed $1 billion to the small and medium-sized enterprises energy line of credit to be loaned through approved financial institutions, such as commercial banks, merchant banks, PC banks, micro-financial institutions and credit unions.

Mr Golding said that while banks have a responsibility to manage the money they have been given, it is unfair to call non-traditional borrowers, such as shoemakers and hairdressers, risky.

Golding pointed out that it was in this regard that the Government had taken a decision to allocate $150 million for micro-enterprises through the Jamaica Business Development Centre. "A way has to be found. We are trying to move the funds, but the process needs to be reworked. We have to become engaged in new thinking."

He added that through the JBDC, government would be providing assistance in examining the projects of small and medium-sized businesses to see whether they make sense, evaluate the risk, provide business and management oversight, provide technical support and assistance. He said there are some people who, if given a chance, will do well.

The prime minister urged the financial institutions to be creative, to apply their ingenuity to work with potential clients to access the DBJ-PetroCaribe SME Energy Fund. He also appealed to the small business sector to look at the energy costs of their operations, to make use of the facility and to demonstrate the creativity of using new technology to help improve their profitability.

The Prime Minister said special attention must be paid to the needs of the small and micro enterprises as they represent a critical path to the future of the country. "We can't march ahead if we leave them behind', he concluded.

A memorandum of understanding was signed at the function by representatives from the DBJ, the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, the University of Technology and Jamaica Trade and Invest. Details of the terms of the loans under the DBJ-PetroCaribe SME Energy Fund were outlined by Milverton Reynolds, managing director of the DBJ, while Energy Minister Clive Mullings reiterated government's commitment to identifying more affordable alternative energy sources.