Entrepreneurs urged to Seize Govt-facilitated business opportunities

─ Govt maintains stimulating environment for businesses to flourish

─ relevant govt agencies to coordinate to transform economy

DPI, Guyana – Monday, November 26, 2018

“With all that Government is undertaking to maintain a stimulating environment for businesses to flourish, it is now up to our entrepreneurs to seize these opportunities and fully commit to their role as the engine of economic growth and transformation.”

This was stated by Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan during his Budget 2019 presentation to the National Assembly on Monday afternoon.

The Minister told the National Assembly that the Government is aware of its role in facilitating private sector development and noted that this can be executed effectively through multi-sectoral and multi-agency collaborations.

Minister Jordan explained that “if we are to effectively transform the economy, all relevant government agencies must coordinate their efforts to provide an enabling environment that will foster entrepreneurship and private sector development.”

He said that work will advance, in 2019, on reforms to realise Section 11 (1) of the Small Business Act 2004 which highlights Government’s efforts to ensure that at least twenty percent of the procurement of goods and services is done from small businesses. The Minister of Finance remarked that as a result, “small businesses will have to meet established standards to have their goods and services also considered for public procurement.”

“In 2019 there will be several measures to stimulate investment in our manufacturing sector and exports,” he added.

Minister Jordan conveyed that small businesses also stand to benefit from initiatives undertaken by the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest). He said that at the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2018, GO-Invest had facilitated approximately $73.8 billion in proposed investment.

“To date, $44 billion of the aforementioned proposed investment has already been approved. In 2019, GO-Invest is targeting between $60 billion and $80 billion in investments,” Minister Jordan said.

Anara Khan

Image: Keno George