GEORGETOWN, Guyana - President Irfaan Ali has told an international business conference here that there are tremendous opportunities and avenues for the development of small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to expand their operations in Guyana.
President Irfaan Ali addressing the International Business ConferenceAddressing the International Business Conference (IBC), Ali said that his government is creating the enabling environment for SMEs to integrate with larger companies and industries acknowledging that SMEs should continuously invest in improving their capabilities to grow beyond their current status.
“Being an SME does not mean you must not have standards, or you must not invest in certification, or that you must be an SME all your life,” he added.
The conference, which ends on Thursday, is being held under the theme “Guyana: The Gateway to Opportunities”. It is co-hosted by the Suriname-Guyana Chamber of Commerce (SGCC) and Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA), with support from the Guyana Office for Investment and Suriname Investment and Trade Agency (SITA).
Ali told the conference that there must also be a clearly defined path for SMEs to grow and graduate, pointing to Guyana’s local content legislation, which he said plays a pivotal role in ensuring that local businesses receive the necessary support to grow.
The Act mandates that Guyanese businesses and workers be given preference in the procurement of goods and services, and in the filling of jobs in the oil and gas sector.
It also encourages the development of local skills and industries to support the oil and gas sector, reducing reliance on foreign imports and services.
President Ali said Guyana can leverage the local content legislation to integrate SMEs into the supply chains and operations of larger companies entering the markets.
“For example, let us say we have a large-scale port operator that comes in. Invariably, that port operator brings in with them a series of opportunities for SMEs. So, the big models are always built on the premise that it must be a series of SMEs supporting what they want, and that is where the local content legislation comes in,” he said.
He told the conference, which was also attended by members of the diplomatic community, that there are also a host of opportunities within the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) landscape, specifically in areas like data sovereignty, integrity and security as the government moves to boost the national and regional data infrastructure.
But he acknowledged that bureaucracy poses a significant challenge to SME growth and urged regional leaders to help break down bureaucratic barriers within their own governments.
“If we want to break down bureaucracy in governments and break down the tears in government, we have to break down the bureaucracy within ourselves. That allows us tAli added.
The organisers said that the IBC is focused on streamlining the ease of doing business and facilitating investments between international companies and Guyana/Suriname in key sectors of the economy including manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, finance, logistics, agriculture, and business support services.
They said international companies possessing intellectual property, human and financial capital, and an appetite for investing in and serving the region are invited to participate and meet with Guyanese/Surinamese companies seeking collaboration, investment, and growth.
