Having seemingly set its sights firmly on creating an enhanced level of local market acceptance for the local manufacturing sector, the Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA) was this week finalizing arrangements for the staging of UncappeD 11, the second of what is envisaged as a series of marketing initiatives aimed at popularizing locally manufactured products.
On Wednesday, in a note to the Stabroek Business, GMSA President Shyam Nokta said that the Sunday April 29 event, titled UncappeD Marketplace will place a heavy premium on agro-processors and will allow manufacturers from across Guyana “to showcase and sell their products to a wider national audience and to also network and market their businesses.” Nokta says that Sunday’s event, which will be staged at the National Stadium, Providence, from 10:00 hrs to 20:00 hrs, will also allow already established manufacturers “to build and further promote existing brands.”
A significant dimension to this weekend’s event is the earlier announced support provided by ExxonMobil though the GMSA has disclosed no details of either the nature or the extent of the support. Local business community functionaries have said, however, that the collaboration provides an indication of the preparedness of the local business community to reach out to ExxonMobil, the global oil giant that has been at the centre of Guyana’s oil exploration and exploitation pursuits.
Last month ExxonMobil’s Senior Director, Public and Government Affairs, Kimberly Brasington addressed an UncappeD Marketplace event at which she said that the oil company is pleased to support the “backbone of the country.”
Other key sponsors of Sunday’s event include Sterling Products Limited, Banks DIH, IPED, and John Fernandes Limited.
As much as anything else UncappeD is being promoted as a collaborative public/private sector initiative and free participation in the event for both vendors and visitors is being seen as a manifestation of that collaboration. Over the years, small vendors have opined that the costs associated with participation in public events like GuyExpo have been prohibitive and have placed constraints on participation.
The organizers say that they envisage that between 60 and 70 vendors will participate in the event.
As is customary, this weekend’s event is a combination of entrepreneurial endeavour and a family outing event and the organizers say that while they are mindful that the entertainment aspects of the occasion not impair the business end, the event will feature games, music, light entertainment and a variety of traditional Guyanese cuisine.
