Businesses in Jersey will share in £30 million of government investment to supercharge the island's economy.

Details have been revealed of how Jersey's government will support businesses to meet higher wage bills.

A £30m investment package aims to boost productivity and stimulate growth.

The cash injection is to help ease the jump for employers of the £13 an hour minimum wage being introduced in April 2025, with a further rise in the rate for the lowest paid workers expected the following year.

In addition to a package of measures worth £20m over two years, the dormant Agricultural Loans Fund is being relaunched with £10m and has reopened to applications from the farming sector.

Plus, the Impact Jersey CX Tech Programme will match fund up to £500,000 to improve customer experience.

The Minister for Sustainable Economic Development, Deputy Kirsten Morel, says through these schemes, the government is helping Jersey businesses to invest in themselves and their employees.

"Jersey suffers from low levels of business investment – less than half of the UK level, which itself is the lowest level of any G7 nation.

"To achieve our ambition of becoming a high-performing, environmentally sustainable and technologically advanced small island economy by 2040, we need to invest in change.

"We’re enabling Jersey businesses to access significant investment, and I’m confident that this will help stimulate the growth and improvement in productivity that we need."

Better Business Support Package

Businesses will receive £9.7 million in the form of the 'Better Business Support Package,' which the States Assembly will decide whether to approve.

It will be part of the Budget for 2025 and 2026, which Jersey's politicians will debate in the coming weeks.

Islanders will be able to apply to the grants to seek aid with the jump to the new £13 minimum wage, on 1 April 2025, and a further jump in 2026, along with other things, including boosting productivity:

• £2.3m Productivity Grant - to help employers invest in a product or process improvement;
• £2m Skills Grant - to help employers invest in apprentice and skills training;
• £1.1m Rural and Marine Grant – top-up funding to the existing rural and marine support schemes;
• £1m Visitor Economy Development Grant – a productivity grant ring-fenced for visitor economy employers;
• £2m Destination Marketing Grant – top-up grant for Visit Jersey to increase tourism demand;
• £1m Route Development Grant - a contract for Ports of Jersey to increase connectivity;
• £0.3m Additional Employee Support – to support lower-income workers who have lived in Jersey for less than five years.

Part of the funding will also be used to deliver, market and develop the online portal for the application process.

Islanders can apply for the funds through Jersey Business in early 2025, after the States' approval.

Paul Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of Jersey Business, says these packages will enable businesses to access finance and capital through various grants, simplifying and supporting direct business investments.

"This will act as a catalyst to activate productivity gains relevant to all sectors, directly impacting business growth, resilience, and profits.

"Additionally, these investments will benefit people by engaging them in work that best utilises their skills and potential.

"We look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks on how this process will be enabled with a digital-first approach."

Agricultural Loans Scheme

A scheme that has been dormant since 2003 is being revamped, with £10 million pumped into helping the farming community.

Islanders in the agricultural industry can now apply for the first £3 million tranche to help make long-term investments into their businesses.

It was approved by the States Assembly in 2023, with the intention of the loans making it easier to develop the sector and protect Jersey's natural environment.

Doug Richardson, President of Jersey Farmers’ Union, says access to extra money will help those rural businesses most impacted by the increase to the minimum wage.

"The reintroduction of the Agricultural Loans Scheme will greatly assist with much-needed investment in our sector.

"These measures ensure we will continue to maintain a viable and sustainable farming sector as a vital part of Island life."

Jersey cow

CXTech Programme

The government also wants to develop and deploy tech-driven solutions to create better customer experiences in Jersey.

£500,000 will be spent on match funding to innovators to improve the island's retail, tourism, hospitality and logistics sectors.

CXTech Programme is looking for advanced solutions to enhance interactions, boost productivity and improve operational efficiencies.

Tony Moretta, Digital Jersey’s CEO, says: "CXTech is designed to make a positive impact on the Island’s visitor and retail sectors, using technology to significantly transform customer experiences and combatting challenges we’re experiencing in Jersey, from increased logistics and freight costs to the fragmented digital interactions encountered when trying to access information."

Eligibility

Businesses will be able to apply for one grant, each year, per grant scheme that they are eligible for.

The grants must be for different projects and cannot start before the funds are approved.

Employers could see up to half of the project's costs covered through this scheme.

Projects need to prove they are beneficial to productivity, input costs, process efficiency, output and revenue.