– GSBA President
The establishment of a Credit Bureau to help provide funding for the development of small and incubating businesses remains one of the main hurdles to the creation of a thriving small business sector in Guyana, according to President of the Guyana Small Business Association (GSBA) Patrick Zephyr.
Speaking with Stabroek Business earlier this week Zephyr said that the setting up of the Guyana Small Business Council two years ago has not been attended by the kind of momentum necessary to move small business in Guyana forward.
Zephyr, who is himself a member of the Council told Stabroek Business that promised state funding for the Council has not be forthcoming and that the agreed setting up of a Small Business Bureau has not been forthcoming. He said that while the GSBA has been seeking to build its membership by providing training programmes and small business support projects with the assistance of funding agencies more financial support was needed for the small business sector.
According to Zephyr a decision had been taken since last year that the National Competitiveness Council is to provide funding to the Small Business Council in order that the Council could extend assistance to local small business organizations including the GSBA. “The problem here is that the Small Business Council has been asked to secure a consultancy to outline its programme of activities and this has not been produced as yet.”
Zephyr disclosed that during the first year of its operations the Small Business Council received a subvention of $1m from government and that that figure had been increased to $1.5m in the second year. “Those sums are simply not enough,” he added.
Zephyr said that President Bharrat Jagdeo had indicated that government’s support for the Small Business Council was dependent on the preparation of a detailed work programme which set out the plans of the Council for supporting the small business community in Guyana. “My own impression is that the President is supportive of the small business community,” Zephyr said.
“There is an urgent need for a robust response to the needs of the small business community. Many owners of small and micro enterprises live from day to day and depend on their daily earnings to support their families,” Zephyr said.
