Small businesses catalyst for green development
The Green Guyana Expo was opened by Minister of Finance Winston Jordan and Minister of Public Affairs, Dawn Hastings who cut the ceremonial ribbon alongside Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock; IAST Chairman, Dr. Suresh Narine; IDB Country Representative, Sophie Makonnen, and chairman of the Expo’s Planning Committee Eric Phillips

Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, Minister of Public Affairs, Dawn Hastings-Williams, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, Chairman of IAST, Dr. Suresh Narine, IDB Country Representative, Sophie Makonnen, and Chairman of the Expo’s Planning Committee Eric Phillips.
Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, Minister of Public Affairs, Dawn Hastings-Williams, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, Chairman of IAST, Dr. Suresh Narine, IDB Country Representative, Sophie Makonnen, and Chairman of the Expo’s Planning Committee Eric Phillips.
The Green Guyana Expo was opened by Minister of Finance Winston Jordan and Minister of Public Affairs, Dawn Hastings who cut the ceremonial ribbon alongside Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock; IAST Chairman, Dr. Suresh Narine; IDB Country Representative, Sophie Makonnen, and chairman of the Expo’s Planning Committee Eric Phillips Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, Minister of Public Affairs, Dawn Hastings-Williams, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, Chairman of IAST, Dr. Suresh Narine, IDB Country Representative, Sophie Makonnen, and Chairman of the Expo’s Planning Committee Eric Phillips. Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, Minister of Public Affairs, Dawn Hastings-Williams, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, Chairman of IAST, Dr. Suresh Narine, IDB Country Representative, Sophie Makonnen, and Chairman of the Expo’s Planning Committee Eric Phillips.

– says Jordan at opening of Small Business Summit

SMALL businesses are a necessary part of Guyana’s development into a ‘Green State’ as they are important catalysts for innovation and have the ability to tap into niche markets, Finance Minister, Winston Jordan said.

He expressed these sentiments at the opening of the International Small Business Summit of the inaugural Green Guyana Expo 2018 at the Ramada Princess Hotel on Thursday.

“I want to posit that the achievement of green growth is inseparable from developments in the private sector, particularly Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs),” he said, noting that they play a vital role in the transformation process.

There is now a growing demand for green products and services, given that Guyana is exploring all avenues from energy to aid the transformation into a ‘Green State’ guided by a Green State Development Strategy (GSDS).

“The key is to find a green market niche that is consistent with market demands and the government’s priorities and develop it,” Jordan said, pointing out the administration has banned the use of single-use plastics in 2016 and will ban more plastic products by 2020.

With a versatile material like plastic being increasingly phased out from daily use, the minister related that small and medium businesses have an opportunity to cash in on the void that would be created.

Helping small businesses to fill this void was just one of the reasons the expo was embraced with much alacrity, Jordan said.

Minister of Finance Winston Jordan

“This expo and summit bring together business experts from Guyana and around the world to educate and inspire local businesses to adopt new technologies and good practices that are necessary to build business resilience and competitiveness,” Jordan stressed.

He added that the aim is to have businesses understand the emerging trends and practices in the green business realm while avenues for policy change to facilitate the transformation are being explored.

“This event is being held at a time when the government is developing, altering and otherwise shifting national policies and investments to reflect a green development agenda,” the finance minister reminded.

He shared that Guyana’s novel approach will be to harness the funds derived from the exploitation of oil and gas resources to finance the green economy while aiming to avoid the pitfalls of other oil-producing nations.

“It is in this context that the Government of Guyana remains resolute in the GSDS which will guide long-term planning to better position the country to address challenges like economic volatility and climate change as well as to make the country better aligned with inclusive growth, sustainable development and poverty reduction,” he stated.

According to Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Leo Heileman, one pitfall countries may have would be to look towards bigger businesses to stimulate transformation and development.

“Too often developmental strategies focus on supporting the big businesses and overlook the wealth and value that small businesses generate,” he said, noting that the expo provides a unique opportunity for small businesses to effectively illustrate their vital role in Guyana’s transformation.

But though small businesses seek to continuously “innovate”, Heileman noted that the constraints that affect the private sector as a whole must not be ignored.

“For decades, high energy costs, inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of skilled labour have raised the costs of doing business in Guyana,” he said, explaining that “economies thrive when their people are educated, healthy and safe. Tackling these rooted issues while hard is critical to developing entrepreneurship and sustained economic growth in Guyana.”

“This event that we are opening today is an important one for our country. It is also an important one for businesses, especially small businesses because businesses that understand where Guyana is heading over the next two decades will make better decisions than those that do not.” Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin opined.

He added: “It is important that small businesses understand how the Green State Development Strategy will impact their sectors,” and said government will not leave these businesses unattended.

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