Expanding business frontiers
Chairman of the Expo and of the African Business Roundtable (ABP), Eric Phillips
Chairman of the Expo and of the African Business Roundtable (ABP), Eric Phillips

– Green Expo to focus on small businesses, innovation and entrepreneurship

THE inaugural Green Guyana Expo has been tapped as a ‘one of the kind’ event that will illustrate the economic opportunities to be had from Guyana’s transformation into the world’s first Green State.

The resource-efficient houses that will be on display at the Green Guyana Expo at the National Stadium tarmac, Providence

This event, which is organised under the theme: “Sustainable economic growth through small businesses innovation, entrepreneurship and transformative government policies,” will be two-fold. The first part is the summit being held at the Ramada Princess Hotel on October 18 and 19, while the Expo will be held from October 18-21 on the National Stadium tarmac.

According to Chairman of the Expo and of the African Business Roundtable (ABP), Eric Phillips, “It’s the first time that this is being done anywhere in the Caribbean because it is our vision to become the world’s first Green State, and that is underpinned by a Green Economy.”

Furthermore, he said: “Ultimately in the green economy, you have to export; you have find new markets; you have to create new companies and new jobs.”

Phillips shared that the “comprehensive” expo is one stepping stone along Guyana’s path of achieving this ambitious vision. In so doing, the two-day summit will feature six discussion panels of experts and stakeholders, local and foreign.

Each panel is structured around specific components of the Green Agenda, i.e., from an introduction to the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS), to Green Energy, to Green Living and Manufacturing.

The expo, on the other hand, already has attracted over 120 exhibitors and will display innovation in business and livelihoods. There will be a ‘Green Village’, showcasing entrepreneurs from all across the country; a ‘Green Youth Tent’, for young people to display their innovations and show just how critical they are in Guyana’s transformation and a Kids Zone, which will engage the younger ones.

“It’s going to be a very important process of educating, not only our young people in schools, but our politicians [and] our business people, to show them where the future lies,” Phillips related.

“Everyone perceives us as an [emerging] oil economy, but we are a Green Economy funded by an oil sector and that’s a fundamental difference,” Phillips clarified.

SMART DEVELOPMENT
The aim is to harness the resources generated from oil and gas and use that to build the green economy, which encompasses renewable energy, a vibrant manufacturing and export sector and generally a green society, he explained.

Additionally, he contended, “Oil will only generate so many jobs and we need to create an economy that creates jobs every year in an area where we have comparative advantages.”

The main exhibition area where some of the more than 120 exhibitors will gather for the Green Expo

Cognisant of this, the chairman disclosed that the private sector is an important target audience. “We need our private sector to know what the opportunities are, and so that they can work along with government towards the Green State agenda.”

Moreover, he posited: “In order to facilitate sustainable green growth, we would have to change policies to create an easier and more enabling environment for businesses and the average citizen.” This is where the expo will focus on showing what Guyana’s transformation is intended to be, while the summit will provide an avenue for discussions on policy change.

And the expo aims to attract thousands of citizens who will garner a practical idea of what the green state will be like. Phillips shared that resource-efficient green houses, an electric car and perhaps a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) mobile will be on display, to show citizens the way sustainable development will be integrated into their very everyday life. And the aim is to use the expo to garner their feedback.

“So you see,it is Guyana’s vision to become a Green State [and] to be a global leader in renewable energy. We have a vision of where we wanna go economically, in a way that is economically friendly, and in a way that we make the best use of our patrimony,” he stated.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.