Guyanese need to be better educated on the initiatives and opportunities available for small businesses and more work should be done to bridge the link between young entrepreneurs and the policies governing the sector.
This was highlighted during the 2008-2012 PRSP Consultation on Private Sector Development held on Monday at Buddy’s Inter-national Hotel, Providence, East Bank Demerara, the Government Information Agency (GINA) stated in a release.
The need to focus on skills training outside of technical and vocational areas, development of the Guyana/Brazil road link and updating the law on co-operative societies were other ideas put forward.
Meanwhile, the new PRSP is expected to focus on maintaining a stable macroeconomic environment that would be conducive to the promotion of increased levels of private sector investment and institutional reforms to improve the ease of doing business, particularly for small businesses.
Credit bureau
Also planned is improved access to financing through the establishment of a credit bureau, direct interventions such as matching grants and assistance in kind to promote small business development and continued emphasis on physical infrastructure which is a prerequisite for small business development.
And under the Compe-titiveness Programme, US$930,000 will be spent to support the improvement of product quality and design, as well as improvement of commercial, financial, environmental and strategic management.
According to GINA, there will also be continued emphasis on skills training with the establishment of two new technical institutes and the provision of tools and equipment for the other similar facilities.
Public consultations on the 2008-2012 PRSP commenced in January with emphasis on greater value for government’s expenditure.
GINA said further that there has been significant progress in the promotion of small business development in Guyana with substantial success being achieved in the implementation of initiatives and interventions outlined in the 2001-2006 PRSP.
Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, who delivered the feature address at Monday’s consultation, highlighted the general acknowledgement of the importance of cottage industries and small businesses as a vehicle to the realization of higher levels of growth and improved living standards.
Reference was made to actions acknowledged in the previous PRSP such as the engagement of stakeholders to develop a Small Business and Cottage Industry Act and promoting competition in the financing of small businesses.
Additionally, the PRSP highlighted the need for expanded physical infrastructure, financial sector reform, skills training such as technical and vocational training and direct marketing support through trade fairs and exhibitions.
It was noted that considerable success has been achieved in many of these areas since in 2004 the Small Business Act was passed in the National Assembly while work was done with several institutions including international development organisations with focus on promoting small business financing facilities in the private sector and the establishment of revolving funds.
Achievements
Among the achievements in this regard were establishment of the rice financing facility, the Linden Economic Advancement Fund (LEAF) and the Guyana Micro Projects Programme. In addition, several trade fairs and exhibitions were mounted and these provided an avenue through which hundreds of small businesses were exposed to new markets while the Competitiveness Pro-gramme has been secured and implementation has commenced.
GINA said also that stakeholders acknowledged that significant efforts have been made and commended government for its continued efforts to promote private sector development while outlining other areas that need attention.
Among others present at the event were Minister of Tourism, Industry and Com-merce Manniram Prashad, Minister of Labour Manzoor Nadir and CEO of the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest) Geoffrey Da Silva. The session also saw participation of representatives from several small and micro-enterprises, Non-Govern-mental Organisations (NGOs) and international development organizations, GINA added.
