Small businesses will be given extra attention during the month of April when the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) hosts a series of activities in observance of National Small Business Week.

Dubbed “Shop small for the big impact”, the events will be hosted from the 8^th to the 16^th of April.

Over 240 small businesses are being targeted in an effort to connect them to the markets they may be seeking and to encourage their growth. 

The GCCI’s Entrepreneurship and Small Business Committee is organizing the small business events.

President of the Chamber of Commerce Timothy Tucker said the Chamber is not just about big businesses but is also about supporting small businesses.  

“I will definitely face the elephant in the room, where for private sector organizations are often seen as the big boys club and it’s always been pushed out there that they only represent what the big boys want. So, this is a membership-based organization and it represents the needs, the wants and the interests of its members and members that get representation are members that go out there and represent themselves through the organization that they are a part of and that is how the GGCI is mandated and operates” Tucker said.

The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce is the oldest business chamber in Guyana.  Tucker said more will definitely be done moving forward to support and develop small businesses and to encourage them to push themselves more.

“Some members might be more active than other members and that’s why their concerns are heard… There is no law in the GCCI barring anyone. Me, as a small business owner, I have used the GGCI to resolve any issues and that’s why I’m here today as a believer in the organization because I had issues and I was invited to come to the GCCI to sort those issues out”

GCCI Executive Director, Richard Rambarran there are also plans coming on stream that will address business development.

“It’s important that we not just see the GCCI as being an advocacy or a lobbying body for the private sector. We also focus quite a bit on business development”, he said.

During the week of the celebration, businesses will also benefit from live webinars on topical issues related to small business development. 

The Chamber is encouraging more businesses to join its membership.

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