LOCAL and foreign nationals will be exposed to Guyanese products stretched across several business sectors this September at GuyTIE 2018, where over 60 exhibitors will be on show.
The event will be held from September 19th -22nd at the Guyana Marriott Hotel and comes through the collaboration of the Ministry of Business and its private sector partners. It aims to promote local investment opportunities; to prepare export-ready firms for export markets and to highlight Guyana as a profitable business destination.

As such, buyers have been registered from as far as India and Korea; Latin America and the Caribbean, even as buyer registration remains open, the Ministry of Business said in a release.

Meanwhile, exhibitors will include large multi-national firms to small and medium-sized enterprises in both the manufacturing and services sector.

The sectors to be represented include agro-processing; chemicals and pharmaceuticals; construction; food and beverage; food processing; forestry and wood products; information and communications; printing and publishing; printing and packaging; tourism, arts and craft; and other services.

Speaking at the event’s launching in May, Business Minister Dominic Gaskin had stated: “We’ve been thinking for some time on how we can improve the GuyExpo model and it’s not that we had anything against GuyExpo, but I don’t think that GuyExpo was achieving the kind of outcomes that we, as the government, are looking for.

“It was successful in its own way, but we wanted a model that is more focused on matching exhibitors with potential international buyers and promoting exports, and GuyExpo was more like a business-to-consumer type of event.”

In addition, GuyTIE’s Steering Committee in collaboration with their partners will host a series of seminars geared towards business development and capacity-building at the four-day event.

There will also be presentations on ‘Achieving Success at Trade Shows’ and ‘Trade Show preparation and Export Marketing,’ while arrangements are being made to facilitate one on one B2B meetings between buyers and exhibitors on the first two days of the expo.
The general public, however, will have the opportunity to purchase tickets through a special promotion to view the business exhibition on the final day. “Exhibitors have recognised that participation at GuyTIE is an excellent opportunity to expose their business and to have the chance to display and showcase their products. The committee has also revealed that there is a waiting list of more than 15 companies who are all hoping that booth space becomes available and that they too will benefit from participation in the largest and most exciting Business to Business (B2B) trade exhibition ever held in Guyana,” a release from the GuyTIE Committee stated.

Those partnering for the success of the initiative include: the Caribbean Export Development Agency; The Guyana Office for Investment; Guyana Tourism Authority; The Private Sector Commission of Guyana Ltd; Small Business Bureau; The Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association and the Guyana Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
At the same time, several sponsors have already come on board and include Demerara Distillers Limited; ENetworks; GTT and BK Holdings Limited; Banks DIH; Caribbean Airlines Limited; Massy Group of Companies; GAICO; Digicel; Comfort Sleep; Sterling Products Limited and Brass Aluminum and Cast Iron Foundry.

The Steering Committee believes that GuyTIE 2018 will be a tremendous success and will work to benefit Guyana in a major way. “These partnerships will create incentives for the private sector to develop their export capability. It will also develop the sector to provide a better service and open up markets for joint venture participation.

This public and private-sector collaboration also exposes the private sector companies to state-owned enterprises as well as government. It will, without a doubt, boost Guyana’s competitiveness within the CARICOM Region,” the release said.