Relationships: Those that survive post Valentine’s Day LAST week we talked about introspection and its importance even in business and with Valentine’s Day being celebrated across the world yesterday, it seems an apt time to expand beyond introspection, to also assessing and embracing relationships. The Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) shares a number of relationships with several government agencies and working together these agencies have managed to significantly impact on the local investment landscape, but its potential is yet to be fully utilised. One of GO-Invest’s primary functions, one I would have mentioned a couple of times, over the past weeks is that of Export Promotion. New Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) is one such organization that partners with GO-Invest and even a superficial understanding by any local exporter small, medium or large would appreciate the potential opportunities that abound. GO-Invest for example already have established relationships with Consulates across the world while New GMC focuses on the markets for local produce. New GMC is a technically government corporation established under the Public Corporations Act, and has been working assiduously over the years to promote the cultivation and export of Guyana’s non-traditional agricultural crops to Regional and Extra-Regional markets. Launched under the hand of the then Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, Guyana had embarked on a ‘Grow More Food Campaign.’ MARKET DRIVEN Market driven, according to Persaud, it would be interesting to know how many local farmers would have taken the opportunity to approach GO-Invest and working together with New GMC capitalize. What I would have learnt in recent weeks while researching this entity is the lack of awareness among many about GO-Invest, what it does, what it can do and in future what it will be able to do. Back in September 2009, the then President Bharrat Jagdeo at the certification ceremony for the Ogle International Airport said that if Guyana wanted to position itself as the food basket of the Caribbean, then it is imperative that the nation moves toward what he called a plantation-type method of farming. Had this call been heeded imagine the possible outcomes. Plantation type farmers exporting their produce utilizing the services of GO-Invest and New GMC would have certainly been noticeably when the finance minister presents his routine financial report on income earned from the various sectors. In recent years Guyana’s forests has also been taking on a more and more dominate role in the local economy. In fact Commissioner of Forests, James Singh, only recently presented a review of the sector for last year and reported on its exports and earnings. While it earned some US$54M for the nation and employed another 23,000 persons it must have come as a surprise to many that Guyana as a country currently only harvests just over a quarter of its ‘maximum allowable annual cut’ for 2014. This means there is room for Guyanese (and Foreign Investors) to expand the forestry operations by almost seventy per cent and still ensure that the country makes good on its international commitments. OPPORTUNITIES What many, including those working in the forestry sector are unaware of is the fact that GO-Invest and GFC share an established relationship as it has been recognized that opportunities abound and can be realized even more fully if the agencies work together. When this Investment Insight series began, I had pointed out that this is one of the key areas that GO-Invest’s Chief Executive Officer, Keith Burrowes wanted to focus on. That is the consolidation of resources and information in order to deliver a more efficient service while being able to better manage the data generated in the process. A relationship between a forestry concessionaire, GO-Invest and GFC can indeed prove to be a walk in greener pastures given the opportunities in the sector. Guyana does have vast forest resources that cover more than three-quarters of its landmass and contain over 1,000 different tree varieties. For generations, rice has growing on Guyana’s coast the bulk of which is exported to foreign lands in exchange for foreign exchange. In fact Guyana’s rice exports last year was more than it has ever exported in its history but this is not and should not be apex of the sector’s output. GO-Invest also shares a close relationship with the Guyana Rice Development Board and this is one of the many relationships that will survive post Valentine that should be capitalized on. The entity played a key role in the establishment of a mega far in Region Nine a foreign investor that placed confidence in Guyana’s soil. While foreign direct investment in Guyana is indeed critical especially given the size of the economy and population my preference would be for local investors to tap into the opportunities that exist. Before the elation over the Valentine relationships subside, investors may very well want to pay the GO-Invest Office at Church and Camp Street a visit to find out precisely what opportunities are available. GO-Invest support through its relationships is by no means limited to New GMC, Forestry and Rice. One that may surprise many is the fact GO-Invest also shares a working relationship with the Tourism, Industry and Commerce. While the Industry and Commerce portfolios may very well be appreciable even at face value Tourism certainly marks a bold new venture worth capitalizing on especially given the administration’s advocacy. So today as you descend from amorous intoxication think about heading down to GO-Invest’s Office tomorrow and ask to speak to one of its investment or export officers. You may very well find a 2015 entrepreneurial ménage worth keeping after Valentine Day.

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