The Stabroek Business welcomes the recent disclosure by the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) regarding the staging of a Small Business Week (July 21-29), whilst, simultaneously raising some issues which, we believe, are critical to ensuring that the event is impactful insofar as it redounds to the benefit of the small business community, as a whole. Contextually, we feel compelled to express the hope that one of the event’s stated hoped-for goals is that of reaching the various communities across the country. Indeed, we anticipate that this undertaking will be taken seriously since it is not customary that events of this nature usually find their way much beyond the easily accessible communities of Guyana.
We are aware, for example, that Business Chamber ‘satellites’ outside of the capital are weak (in some instances to the point of being virtually non-existent) and, as things stand, will only be able to offer limited (if any) support to a Small Business Week initiative that realizes its desired objectives. We believe that a Small Business Week is important if only because – perhaps to a greater extent than at any other period in our recent history – there appears to be an appetite among Guyanese for the pursuit of modest business opportunities which, hopefully, will transform into bigger ones. This inclination raises issues like business training and access to small business funding which have not, over the years, been our country’s greatest strengths.
Indeed, many of our currently more ‘celebrated’ small businesses in sectors like Agro Processing were required to wade through difficult startup challenges with little if any official help. Here, the point should be made as well, that what now appears to be a considerable appetite among Guyanese for startups that are backed by hopes of growth, down the road, dictates that government move to provide an all-round corresponding response that best positions those would-be entrepreneurs to ‘come through.’ Any initiative that does not, at least, set out to optimize access and meaningful participation cannot be expected to count as a genuine effort. Up until now, we have only seen limited public promotion of what, on paper at least, appears to be a worthwhile undertaking.
The Stabroek Business is, for example, delighted that the Small Business Week event appears to be mindful of taking account of providing promotional opportunities for emerging businesses run by young, ambitious Guyanese, who at this juncture, may be operating at the level of Pop Up Shops. Indeed, we would wish to see a Small Business Week event that takes full account of the ambitions of this particular group of Guyanese. Apart from having already signaled our preparedness to, as far as possible, provide promotional support for the Small Business Week, the Stabroek Business has decided to undertake a limited number of promotional stories on existing small businesses anywhere in the country on the condition that convivial arrangements can be made for business owners to be interviewed.
Indeed, we are prepared to extend this service beyond the dates of the Business Week itself. In the period ahead, the Stabroek Business is also prepared to engage the GCCI on matters relating to publicizing of information pertaining to the planning and execution of the events associated with the overall exercise.
