JN Small Business Loans celebrated its 20th anniversary in October 2020. Since inception, JNSBL has transformed the lives of thousands of Jamaicans by offering affordable and timely credit to assist entrepreneurs with limited access to credit from traditional banking sources to achieve their potential.
The company was established in the year 2000 after the then Jamaica National Building Society purchased the Workers’ Bank micro-business loans portfolio. The company was then known as JN Micro Credit. In 2003, it was rebranded as JN Small Business Loans.
Over the course of its existence, the company, recognizing the importance of small and micro entrepreneurs to the Jamaican economy, has moved from two locations in Kingston and St Catherine, to 30 across all 14 parishes. JNSBL offers a range of products and services, such as a Back-to-school Loan, a Christmas Loan and a Biz Events Loan. The company recently launched its suite of Lifeline Loan products to assist entrepreneurs who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2015, the company thought it prudent to explore new avenues to unlock the potential of more entrepreneurs. To achieve this objective, the JNSBL Barber and Beauty Battle was launched, a competition that exposes Jamaicans to the various careers and talent within the beauty industry and to inform members of the sector about the options that existed to fund their operations. The competition also served as a workshop as it provided information about the numerous career opportunities which existed within the sector, whether part-time or full-time. The competition has since grown to become a flagship event of the company and has seen almost all of its winners go on to establish successful operations.
However, JNSBL has not only impacted the entrepreneurs it has supported over the years. Several of its employees, throughout the years, have joined the team through the HEART Trust/NSTA internship programme and have gone on to hold supervisory positions across the company.
One of the beneficiaries of that programme is long-serving Credit Relations Officer, Sophia Lee, who joined the company at its inception.
“I started as a Heart Trainee with Workers Bank, and the small business portfolio was later sold to the parent company, Jamaica National Building Society. At the time, JNSBL was JN Micro Credit Ltd, and I was a customer service representative. Later, I made the transition to Relief Field Officer and then Field Officer,” she said.
“The journey has been challenging, memorable and rewarding. I have assisted with training a number of employees, some of whom are still here. During my time, the company has gone through a lot of changes from how loans are processed, the loan amounts offered, management and staff. There has been ‘the good, the bad and the ugly.’”
Ms Lee is not the only employee to celebrate 20 years. She shares that distinction with Deputy General Manager, Mrs. Thelma Yong; Senior HR Business Partner, Mrs. Marcia Patterson Baugh, and fellow Client Relations Officer, Ann-Marie Merchant, who have all seen the company evolve from having a few employees to more than 100 at present.
As JNSBL celebrates 20 years, it is also looking to expand further into rural Jamaica to assist even more Jamaicans to become successful entrepreneurs and improve their standard of living.
“We are committed to Jamaica and Jamaicans and believe that entrepreneurship is one of the vehicles through which we can achieve sustained economic development, affirmed Mrs Gillian Hyde, General Manager, JNSBL. “It is important that we tap into this area because data from the Planning Institute of Jamaica has shown that the micro, small and medium enterprise sector accounts for a significant portion of employment in Jamaica. We are determined to play our part in continuing to transform the lives of ordinary and lift them above the poverty line”.
To mark the 20th anniversary, members of the team celebrated the milestone by having sweet treats and spending time together. Below are the highlights.
