The Guyana Development Bank could become one of the most important financing tools for a new generation of local entrepreneurs, with Private Sector Commission (PSC) Chairman Captain Gerald Gouveia Jr. saying the institution will help open the door for startups, single mothers, young business owners and students with strong ideas.
Speaking on the Starting Point podcast, Gouveia said access to finance has been one of the private sector’s biggest concerns for more than a decade. He described the passage of the Guyana Development Bank legislation as one of the top priorities for the business community.
“What this development bank is doing is adding more opportunities for the Guyanese entrepreneur, the Guyanese startup, because that’s really where it’s geared,” Gouveia said. “It’s not geared to the very large conglomerates.”
He said the bank is aimed at ordinary Guyanese with business potential, including young entrepreneurs and university students entering the market with innovative ideas.
“This is a bank that is geared to startups. It’s a bank that’s geared to the single mothers. It’s a bank that’s geared to the young entrepreneur, the student coming out of UG with a bright idea,” he said.
According to Gouveia, the bank’s ability to provide low-interest or no-interest loans, with little or no collateral, could help unlock business ideas that may have otherwise remained unfunded.
He said the initiative “really opens up the floodgates for Guyanese innovation and Guyanese creativity to start earning some money.”
Gouveia said the Development Bank is not expected to operate in isolation. He noted that private-sector organisations have already been developing support systems to help entrepreneurs become ready for financing.
He said organisations such as the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSC), the Women’s Chamber, the Berbice Chamber, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Private Sector Commission have been working on business support desks and entrepreneur support programmes. These initiatives, he said, are offering assistance with business planning, financial planning and supply-chain management.
The goal, Gouveia explained, is to help entrepreneurs become “bankable” before they approach the Development Bank or any other financial institution.
He said compliance, certification, business planning and financial planning are among the areas where small businesses need support if they are to access financing locally or internationally.
Gouveia also pointed to consortium financing as one of the bank’s potentially game-changing features. Under that model, several entrepreneurs could pool their loans to create larger ventures.
He said he has long supported the creation of clusters and consortiums, not only for startups but also for larger businesses trying to remain competitive in Guyana’s growing market.
“If we want Guyanese businesses to continue to be competitive in the ever-growing Guyanese market, regional market and international global market, we can’t do it alone,” Gouveia said. “We need to find partners both local and internationally to develop a Guyanese brand.”
He said Guyanese businesses need to pool capital, technology and manpower to compete more effectively. With the Development Bank, he said, that model could now reach the entrepreneurial level.
Using an example, Gouveia said 10 persons could each access financing and combine their resources into a $30 million venture, once they develop a strong business package and work with private-sector support systems.
The PSC Chairman also said agriculture stands out as one of the strongest areas for future wealth creation in Guyana.
He said the Guyana Development Bank is expected to prioritise financing for sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and the orange economy, which includes creative arts. However, Gouveia said agriculture may offer the fastest route to wealth generation.
“I believe that agriculture in the near future is going to be the fastest path to wealth generation in this country,” he said.
Gouveia said Guyana has a strong competitive advantage because of its land availability, geographic position, ties to CARICOM and proximity to Latin America. He said those conditions make agriculture and agro-processing major opportunities for entrepreneurs.
He also pointed to digitisation as a major business opportunity that many people may be overlooking.
According to Gouveia, entrepreneurs who can apply technology and artificial intelligence to existing businesses and business processes could tap into multimillion-dollar opportunities.
The Development Bank forms part of a wider national push to expand economic participation beyond traditional business centres and help more Guyanese benefit from the country’s rapid growth.
Gouveia said while Guyana’s GDP growth is important, the real measure of success is whether that growth reaches people in communities across the country, including areas such as Mabaruma, Lethem, Mahdia and Karanambu.
He said if people can build businesses, earn a living and benefit from Guyana’s development without having to leave their communities, that would be a stronger measure of national success.
