Guyana’s leading private-sector lobby is pushing for the creation of a Junior Stock Exchange, arguing that small and medium-sized businesses need more financing options to scale in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) President Kathy Smith said the Chamber has been engaging Jamaican financial institutions, including stakeholders connected to Jamaica’s Junior Stock Exchange, as Guyana looks to develop a similar platform for local businesses.
The proposed exchange would give micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, known as MSMEs, another route to raise capital outside of traditional commercial banks. It could also create opportunities for growing companies to reinvest profits, attract new investors and buy shares in other businesses.
Speaking on the Energy Perspectives podcast, Smith said access to finance remains one of the biggest obstacles facing Guyanese entrepreneurs, particularly those with strong business ideas but limited ability to navigate the country’s conventional banking system.
“The GCCI, I think, why it was important for us to be in that room as GCCI, we have always been calling for an alternative way of financing,” Smith said.
She said many small firms have the ambition and growth potential to expand but struggle to meet the requirements of traditional financial institutions.
According to Smith, the Chamber has already opened discussions with Jamaican stakeholders to support the development of a Junior Stock Exchange in Guyana.
“So the GCCI has been lobbying the Jamaican financial institutions, specifically the Junior Stock Exchange,” Smith said. “And we have started some conversations where they were helping us to build out a Junior Stock Exchange in Guyana.”
Smith said the initiative was first advanced by former GCCI presidents Timothy Tucker and Kester Hutson and is now being continued under her leadership.
The matter was also raised during the Chamber’s engagement with Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, where Guyanese private-sector representatives signalled that local businesses are ready for alternative financing opportunities.
“We wanted to let Prime Minister know that this is a conversation we have started and because the private sector is ready for it,” Smith said.
Smith said the Government of Guyana has also indicated support for building out the exchange, a development she said has given the private sector greater confidence.
“We were happy too that the government of Guyana has said to us, you know what, we’re going to ensure that we build out the Junior Stock Exchange,” she said.
She said the proposed Junior Stock Exchange, along with other financing initiatives such as the planned Guyana Development Bank, could unlock new opportunities across the non-oil economy.
Access to capital, she said, will be critical not only for oil and gas support services, but also for agriculture, construction, mining, information technology, education, agro-processing and small manufacturing.
Smith said Guyana’s private sector is entering a period of major opportunity, but smaller businesses must now strengthen their internal operations if they want to attract financing, form partnerships, and compete at the regional and international levels.
