Minister on mission to revive Jersey's entrepreneurial spirit

Friday 28 October 2022

The Economic Development Minister says he is on a mission to revive Jersey's entrepreneurial spirit by breaking down barriers to starting a new business.

Deputy Kirsten Morel was questioned about his upcoming 'Enterprise Strategy' during a hearing of the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel on Thursday.

The initiative was briefly described in the recently released Common Strategic Policy – which sets out the government's main priorities over the next four years – as a way to "identify opportunities to cut red tape, incentivise start-ups, and help established businesses to grow and thrive".

Panel Chair Deputy Moz Scott asked Deputy Morel to clarify the purpose of the strategy and how it would differ from existing support.

"[The Enterprise Strategy] is about trying to encourage Islanders to try to re-find that belief that I grew up with in Jersey, that anyone can start a business and succeed with it – I believe that is something that has been lost," Deputy Morel responded.

Pictured: The Minister cited high commercial rents as a possible barrier for new businesses.

He added: "It is about giving people the tools they need to understand what it is to set up a business – it can be a really mysterious thing if you have never done it before."

As part of the strategy, Deputy Morel said it was important that the government understood what the "barriers" were to islanders hoping to start their own business, citing commercial rents as a possible example.

"We will be looking at how we can develop that sense of enterprise throughout the island's population," he added.