GUYTIE Report concedes planning, execution shortcomings

Cup of tea, anyone? Nature’s Finest proprietrix Princess Cosbert brewing one of her flavours at last September’s Guytie event.

Joint government/private sector efforts to enhance entrepreneurial ties between local business entities and external investors still continue to fall short of the success that it seeks though there are encouraging signs that local commodities, notably agro-processed goods are beginning to attract the attention of the international market, according to a recently released  Report on last September’s inaugural Guyana Trade and Investment Exposition (GUYTIE) staged at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston.

The Report on the four-day event – staged by the Ministry of Business in collaboration with the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) and local business support organizations, while asserting that it “achieved its goals and objectives and met a large percentage of its key performance indicators said that while the forum established more than fifty “trade leads,” only one “trade contract” was signed. The Report asserted, nonetheless, that the event served as “a catalyst for several companies to penetrate markets that they have been trying to enter without success.” It had listed as its objectives the promotion of ‘packaged local investment

opportunities for foreign direct investment and local investment, preparing and promoting export-ready firms to export markets and highlighting Guyana as a “preferred destination for business.”