The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) says it is backing women and young people between the ages of 18 and 35 to create a countrywide micro and small business culture that can serve as “effective catalysts in creating jobs for the country’s rapidly developing economy.”
An article published in the Chamber’s recently released 2013 edition of its publication, Business Guyana, credits the mushrooming of micro-financing organisations with creating greater opportunities for women and young entrepreneurs to make their mark in the Guyana economy. The GCCI cites the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED) and its affiliate the Guyana Youth Business Trust (GYBT), Women of Worth (WOW) – a Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) small business lending initiative, the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Carib Export) and the still to be launched state-administered Small Business Bureau as critical financing institutions in the quest to grow the country’s micro and small business sector.
Publication of the article comes against the backdrop of oft-expressed concerns by small business operators and budding entrepreneurs over what they say is a less than positive posture towards loan seekers in the sector. While local Business Support Organisations (BSOs) have