Towards a Gender Equal World: the EU Gender Action Plan III

• Gender marker: G1-Promotes gender equality as a significant objective
• Period of implementation: February 2022-February 2027
• Amount: Projected total investment size-  EUR 51,356,000; EU Contribution - EUR 7,400,000
• Geographical area: Americas and the Caribbean
• Implementing partners:

  • Inter-American Development Bank(IDB)

  • Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ)

• Link to the project: https://thinkbigee.com/
• GAP III’s Areas:

  • Economic and social empowerment

  • Green and digital transformation

Over the past decades, and after the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jamaica has experienced low levels of economic growth – less than 1% yearly average – and debt levels to GDP ratios of over 100%. To overcome this situation and boost the country’s entrepreneurship, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) launched in 2021 the Boosting Innovation Growth & Entrepreneurship Ecosystem “BIGEE” initiative, a five-year project to support the Jamaican government and stimulate sustainable growth among Jamaican startups and small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

As highlighted in the study “Gender-Responsive Socio-economic Study on the Impact of COVID-19 on Women in Business and Women Entrepreneurs in Jamaica” (2021), the crisis has laid bare and exacerbated the growing economic divide within, between and across socio-economic  groups, particularly for women. More specifically, Jamaican women who have become entrepreneurs and/or founded start-ups face more difficulties than men in finding support for their ventures, being less likely to start a business to transition their business to a mature stage and even more likely to discontinue it.

But why do these obstacles persist? According to studies carried out by the IDB, the structural causes and challenges stem, among other issues, from women’s underrepresentation at the highest levels of business, lack of equal access to productive networks, poor women’s confidence and fear of failure at the start or the lack of  existing disaggregated data to inform gender-responsive policymaking.

Therefore,  in alignment with the III EU Gender Action Plan (2021-2025) and based on BIGEE’s positive performance, the  European Union awarded in 2022 a non-reimbursable grant of EUR 7,4 million through the Latin America Investment Facility (LACIF) to promote inclusive and gender-responsive growth and productivity by fostering innovation and resilience in Jamaican local MSMEs. Thanks to this EU additional funding, BIGEE introduced two new areas focused on gender inclusiveness and women-led/owned businesses as well as climate resilience projects. 

This Grant, whose last funding cycle just closed in February 2024, also contributes to the IDB’s updated Gender Action Plan for Operations 2020-2021 and its “Second Update of the Institutional Strategy” commitment to finance women-led firms to innovate in their business process or products and increase their efficiency, economies of scale and scope.

Among its various components, programmes to include IGNITE, Patent Grant Fund and the Innovation Grant Fund BIGEE has supported innovative and gender-responsive project solutions such as Haughton’s Pharmacy “Multi-dose prescription medication management system, RXPak,” which improves the autonomy” of customers in managing their prescription medication needs.  Haughton’s Pharmacy is a beneficiary of the Innovation Grant Fund.

“We were trying to find a seamless way for our customers to order their prescriptions online. This is the way of the world as well. Coming out of COVID, we were trying to make our business pandemic-proof and answering the call of customers to make our business more adaptable to their needs. The RxPak system, which has 31 slots for your daily repeat medication doses, will ensure patient adherence and is it is easy to follow”, Francine Haughton Adam. Director, Haughton’s Pharmacy.

In the case of other projects, such as "Instant Save Conservation – Water Use Efficiency" project exemplifies BIGEE's IGNITE Grant's success in fostering innovative and gender-responsive climate solutions. This purpose-driven leader in water efficiency empowers businesses, governments, and communities to achieve cost savings, water security, and environmental responsibility. By combining data-driven insights with cutting-edge technology for building retrofits, leak detection, and rainwater harvesting, it promotes sustainable water management and combats water scarcity for a resilient future. 

 

(Credit for the picture: Leanne Spence, CEO and Co-Founder of Instant Save Conservation)                                                                                        

Regarding scalable startups, fund managers and angel investors have also been trained on gender-sensitive selection methodologies to increase the understanding of women-led start-ups and women’s participation and influence within high-tech scalable startups by providing mentoring and networking support to women-led startups in coordination with key actors. One successful example is Turner Innovations Ltd and its USA Patented Sorrel Harvesting Machine and Patent-pending Sorrel Deseeder. After the initial support of full grant funding to protect the idea of the married couple Oral & Allison Turner, build a work area, and purchase materials for development, DBJ continued through a series of different support systems to walk them through structuring their business model, mentorship, and readiness for investment alongside other business support partners like First Angels Jamaica and the Branson Center of Entrepreneurs. The support continued through the pandemic, and as a result of determination, dedication, and perseverance they proved their concept in 2021. They secured another round of investment from First Angel's Jamaica through doing the new REVUP incubator and have now secured local and international sales and are currently in the manufacturing process. 

The BIGEE project also includes  grants for women-led research initiatives such as the recently launched  assessment of  Jamaica’s Entrepreneurial and Business Landscape or gender-responsive training and skills for entrepreneurship (i.e., promoting gender equality in the workplace, innovative product design that accounts for gender and diversity, etc.), and a digital skills boot camp for women.

Moreover, online gender audits will ascertain and raise awareness of gender’s level responsiveness within beneficiary institutions and firms; being expected that the Innovation Grant Fund will benefit around 120 women owned firms from matching grants and technical assistance, while around 150 women entrepreneurs and researches will benefit from the networking and mentoring activities. A good last example of this commitment is the DBJ quarterly Conversation and Networking events that are organised to unite a diverse group of female entrepreneurs to share their stories, build connections and inspire each other. 

 “It takes hard work to get to your goals. Stay focused,” Cecile Watson, CEO of ShredWIZ

All in all, the BIGEE program represent a concerted effort by Jamaican and international entities such as the IDB and EU to promote innovation, sustainable growth, and gender equality. But if you still want to know more about the DBJ understanding of gender balance and the cost of exclusion to growth and development, we invite you to watch this webinar and follow more news about this investment initiative in LACIF.