GuyExpo 2024 opened last evening at the Sophia Exhibition Complex with President Irfaan Ali explaining that the Government has offered critical financial support to some 4,000 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to the tune of $1 Billion over the past four years.

The President said in addition to the injection of finances into SMEs, the Government has also provided much needed training to more than 10,000 businesses, and has created a conducive environment for small and medium-sized businesses to have even more access to financial resources. 

“Our partnerships with financial institutions facilitated hundreds of new loans totaling billions of dollars to SMEs. We unlocked the possibilities of SMEs getting capital with targeted policies that supported the financial institutions by reducing the risks in lending to SMEs,” President Ali explained. 

He said the Government’s intention is not to solely extract the country’s resources, but to generate wealth by building industries, and creating opportunities for businesses to flourish, and to add value to their products and services. 

Pointing to the diversification of the Agriculture Sector, the President said there is a move to ramp up production to support the value-added chain.  

“Our rice production last year was about 653,000 tons. We expect to close this year at 720,000 tons. Our cassava production last year was 20 million tons; we will close this year producing more than 50 million tons of cassava, from 20 million tons to 50 million tons. Our corn and soya bean production will move from 9,000 tons to close to 20,000 tons. Our vegetables production will move from 340,000 tons last year to 380,000 tons at the end of the year, even after the prolong drought and dry season,” President Ali said. 

Brackish water shrimp and honey production are also expected to increase significant by the end of the year, according to the President. 

He said the Government is committed to the diversification of the economy, and will continue to support the production of value-added products and services, that in return, will create even more wealth for the country, much to the benefit of its people. 

“Wealth creation is not achieved by distributing wealth. We cannot grow an economy by dividing up what we already have. True wealth creation happens when we are building, producing, creating something that was not there before, creating something that was not there before. It is about a nation coming together to make things, to produce goods, to refine services and to elevate our industries. And, that is what our commitment is firmly rooted in building a diversified economy that stands strong across every sector, not just in oil but in agriculture, in tourism, in technology, in every corner of productivity,” President Ali said. 

Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond said in keeping with its theme ‘Guyana on Show – The fastest Growing Economy,’ GuyExpo is intended to showcase the high quality of locally produced goods and services, and the remarkable economic progress the country has made, particularly, in the non-oil sector. 

“Our mid-year report for 2024 confirmed a stunning real GDP growth of 49.7 percent in the first half of the year. This growth included robust growth of 12.6 percent in the non-oil economy. The latter, includes sectors such as agriculture, fishing, mining and quarrying, excluding oil and gas and their supporting services, construction and forestry. This progress is a testament to the strategic and comprehensive plans and programmes implemented to stimulate private sector growth,” Minister Walrond said. 

Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Komal Singh said GuyExpo continues to provide enormous number of economic opportunities for the private sector. 

“GuyExpo creates an environment for businesses to showcase their goods and services. Most importantly, it allows businesses from across the region to participate. This platform of this nature allows businesses to create a new relationship, creates new market, and in many cases new partnerships,” Singh said. 

GuyExpo – Guyana’s largest trade fair and exposition – is featuring more than 300 businesses, companies and organisations this year. 

A number of companies from the US and Canada, China, Barbados, and Grenada are also in Guyana for the trade fair and expo. 

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