The government’s 2021 budget may well end up being a missed opportunity for expanding support and nourishing growth of Guyana’s small business sector. To emphasise this point it should be noted that some $2 billion has been appropriated to GuySuCo, a single entity, to resuscitate its viability and assure its survival. A similar sum should have been included for the Small Business Bureau (SBB) to help fulfill its mandate and, specifically, to designate at least one-half of a $2 billion allocation for financing options to be reserved for the entire small-business sector. Such significant investments would reap immeasurable rewards for both government and the country as a whole.
With many financing constraints burdening our small businesses, government should not hesitate to offer innovative financing strategies for these enterprises. In addition to more financing becoming available to the SBB for its current initiatives to assist small businesses, credit guarantee schemes should be established where government can act as an intermediary between private sector borrowers and lending institutions by guaranteeing entire or partial portions of commercial bank loans.