Despite its reservations about the likely performance of the economy this year the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED) will be seeking to increase the volume of loans this year and plans to focus attention on businesses with export potential.
IPED hopes to propel the value of loans to clients from around $1.4 billion in 2008 to approximately $1.7 billion this year, according to the Institute’s Finance Controller, Ramesh Persaud.
“We believe that given the current economic climate there will be a greater demand for our services this year,” Persaud told Stabroek Business. “An institution like IPED plays a very interesting role in an economy like ours, When the economy does well clients come to us to do business; and even when the economy doesn’t do so well people come to us because that is when they will need us far more than when the economy is doing better.
Because we have concerns about the performance of the economy we believe that a number of people are likely to look for alternative means of securing an income; and that is where IPED comes in,” Persaud added.
Persaud said that IPED is also anticipating some growth in the number of clients since it was now seeking to focus in some areas of the country including several villages in Berbice, Leguan, Wakenaam and some hinterland communities which it had not yet penetrated. “This year, we will be seeking to enhance our marketing efforts in order to try to reach some of the unserved areas of the country,” Persaud said.
Meanwhile, according to Persaud, local small businesses with export potential are to benefit from “special attention and support” from IPED this year.
“If we accomplish nothing else of significance in 2009 we will be seeking to identify businesses, that have the potential to contribute to export earnings and to work with them over a long period to help them develop that potential,” Persaud told Stabroek Business.
According to Persaud while IPED will continue to focus attention on responding to the traditional support requirements of its customers, the focus on lending more attention to export-oriented business initiatives will now be pursued as “a focused and deliberate strategy. We will be actively seeking out clients whose businesses have export potential,” Persaud said.
IPED’s programme for supporting export-driven enterprises will include assisting those enterprises to partner with governmental and other agencies that are currently promoting export initiatives.
He said that IPED will also provide its clients in the export sector with seminars and other forms of training and orientation designed to raise awareness of the potential for exports. Persaud said that IPED will also be focusing on helping its clients to “fine-tune” their ideas for export initiatives. “We believe that given the nature of our work on the ground we have a greater advantage in identifying that potential.”
Persaud told Stabroek Business that IPED’s focus on seeking to support the growth of businesses with export potential will not be confined to established enterprises. “We are saying that whether you are small or large, if you have export potential we are prepared to work with you and even to link you up with the larger clients who may be able to provide services that can support your objectives,” Persaud said.
And according to Persaud IPED’s search for business with export potential will focus on enterprises that enjoy a comparative advantage on the international market. “Most of these are likely to be in the agriculture and agri-processing sectors,” he added. Persaud told Stabroek Business that IPED’s decision to focus more attention on the potential of the export sector in the years ahead was driven by a focus on working with clients who can make a meaningful contribution to developing the country’s economy. He said that by seeking out clients whose business initiatives were focused on export markets IPED was also seeking to increase the volume of its loans above the current rate of around 5,000 loans annually.