Small business development gets GY$ millions

Last Updated on Wednesday, 6 December 2017, 23:15 by Denis Chabrol

Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin.

Small business development is next year set to receive a GY$148 million boost to help them set up shop and provide services to large companies, Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin announced.

The government’s Department of Public Information said in 2018, the Small Business Bureau (SBB) intends to register companies that meet certain standards and quality. Those companies, he said would be recommended to larger companies that are intetested in sub-contracting or contracting Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SME.)

Gaskin said advertisements would be placed at the Bureau on behalf of those companies to promote them to larger enterprises.

“These larger enterprises can contact the Bureau whenever a business opportunity arises, and the Bureau would then recommend the qualified companies in this sector of activity. If successful this can be a great program to promote the small businesses of Guyana,” Minister Gaskin told the House.

Additionally, GY$100 million have been allocated towards the establishment of a Small Business Development Fund. He said that revolving fund would provide financing to those companies that cannot meet the criteria of traditional banks.

Minister Gaskin said that the effective revolving nature of the fund would limit the erosion of its capital. That, he said, would be achieved through careful screening of applicants prior to referral to the programme; frequent review of the performance of the revolving fund; favourable interest rates; and shorter repayment periods (not more than once per year) to allow for timely revolving of funds.