President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Kathy Smith, is urging Guyanese businesses, especially micro and small enterprises, to stop treating “access to finance” as the economy’s biggest constraint.
She argued that lending options have expanded, and the bigger challenge is whether businesses are structured, compliant, and financially disciplined enough to qualify.
Smith said the country has moved beyond the era when collateral requirements and limited lending products routinely shut small firms out.
“Access to finance has become a term I am hoping that we can put it in a box and shelf it,” Smith said, pointing to a wider mix of financing avenues now available across the market.
Smith noted that policy changes have helped modernise how businesses can secure financing. She highlighted the Moveable Property Act, which allows business owners to leverage moveable assets, such as inventory, vehicles and stock, to support loan or overdraft applications at banks and other financial institutions.
Where businesses once relied heavily on land titles or other fixed assets to satisfy collateral demands, Smith said this shift has created room for firms that may be asset-light but operationally active.
She also referenced targeted products emerging from commercial banks, including the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) GROW programme, which she said is designed to help micro and small businesses access financing.
Meanwhile, Smith said the government’s zero-interest development bank would further widen the pipeline for small businesses by providing seed capital that entrepreneurs can use to strengthen their position when seeking larger financing from traditional institutions.
While acknowledging that some business owners still say they are unable to obtain funding, Smith argued that many have not explored the full range of options now available.
“When I’m having a conversation with businesses…that might say that they’re not getting finances, I’m asking the question, where have you gone?” she said, adding that multiple institutions and organisations are “making themselves more available.”
But the GCCI President stressed that expanded lending options do not automatically translate into approvals, particularly if a business cannot demonstrate strong financial hygiene.
Smith said feedback she has received from financial institutions suggests that the stumbling block for many small businesses is not the absence of loan products, but gaps in documentation, compliance, and financial management.
She explained that lenders, especially banks, typically want to see a consistent deposit history and transaction record, along with proof that the business has ongoing work and that its revenue is being properly managed.
She added that banks also look closely at whether a business is up to date with statutory commitments to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and whether its books are properly prepared, audited where necessary, and supported by financial statements that reflect the true position of the company.
Banks, she said, want assurance that a business is formal, accountable, and capable of managing repayment obligations, especially in a fast-growing economy where cash flow can increase quickly through contracts.
“When you get a contract, that money is considered revenue,” she explained. “After you have cleared your expenses, whatever is left, can be determined as profit. So you have to manage your money carefully.”
She urged businesses to ensure there is competent accounting oversight, either by hiring an internal accountant or outsourcing one, so they can track performance, manage taxes and statutory payments, and present clean records to financiers.
