This year’s GuyExpo, slated for May 12–15, will place significant focus on micro and small businesses and is expected to have 500 exhibitors, Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin stated yesterday at the launch of the exposition.
With the theme ‘50 Years Guyana Means Business, Promoting Enterprise, Driving Productivity,’ Gaskin said the expo will be in line with the objectives of the Ministry of Business and the economic development priorities of the government. It is “designed to nurture and promote business growth and development in Guyana,” he said.
Launching the exposition, President David Granger questioned its purpose. “…We should examine the whole idea behind the expo and before we actually go into it, we should ask ourselves what really is GuyExpo? Is it a hang? How do we measure its success? By the amount of people coming through the gates? Do we measure GuyExpo’s success by the amount of booths we establish here? Or the amount of sales?”
He recalled an instance in the past where someone had inquired at one of the booths about a locally-made product. He said that when the person placed an order for a large amount of the product, the producer was unable to supply the demand and such issues should be addressed.
“… And they want to know if it is GuyExpo or ‘Forexpo,’” he said, highlighting the large number of foreign exhibits and products that were seen at previous expos. “We need to deal with those products if we are to move GuyExpo forward from year to year and actually encourage businesses and production,” he added.
Granger said that while Guyana has relied on the six sisters in the past—raw sugar, raw rice, raw bauxite, raw gold, raw timber and raw fish—GuyExpo should be a forum where we no longer rely on the “raw economy.”
“So, indeed we can use GuyExpo to transform our economy,” he said, before adding that the manufacturing sector needs to be revitalised so that the country no longer depends on exporting raw materials. He said there is a need for innovation and focus should be geared towards science and technology.
He also highlighted the need for foreign investors to feel safe bringing their business to Guyana. “We need to assure investors that this country is safe. We need to give them the assurance that the investors will be protected. We need to show them that there will be a police force, a defence force who will ensure that their properties will not be attacked or robbed,” said, stating that investors should be able to rely on the National Assembly that will pass laws that will be enforced. “…That when bills are passed by the National Assembly they are assented by a responsible president like me,” he added.
Meanwhile, Gaskin noted that one area of focus for his ministry is on the development of micro and small enterprises. “This level of enterprise accounts for 30% of the country’s GDP and employs tens of thousands of persons,” he said. Noting that many of the businesses have the capacity to develop beyond the small business level, he said the expo will be a gateway for small businesses to do just that. “GuyExpo presents opportunities for this kind of growth even for small business with low growth potential,” he added.
Gaskin said efforts will be made to encourage businesses to bring high standards of products to the exposition and the Ministry of Business via the Guyana National Bureau of Standards will play a particular role in helping business achieve the requirements of the international market. “…The focus will be on business development and export in order to integrate with the priorities of our ministry,” he said, before stating that the fresh focus will show that “Guyana really means business.”
“…Thousands of Guyana will return home from abroad for the celebrations [50th anniversary] and many will be attending the GuyExpo,” he reasoned. He said too that other foreign exhibitors will have the opportunity to showcase their products, as per normal, and there will be opportunities to build business partnerships. He said the expo has grown tremendously from its first 1995 event. The 500 exhibitors anticipated this year include both local and international.
Head of the Private Sector Commission Norman McLean said the balance between entertainment and promoting Guyana’s products needs to be found. He recalled that when GuyExpo first started the focus was on agriculture produce and other products.
“We were trying to brand ‘Made in Guyana’ and that is what it was trying to promote,” he said, stating that it eventually grew and attracted people from around the Caribbean and other countries. While the growth was good, McLean stated, “It seemed we have lost our way.” He noted that people started to look forward to the event for entertainment.
McLean yesterday pledged his support to the government towards making the expo a success in their public-private partnership.
