AGRICULTURE Minister Robert Persaud yesterday called for a change in Guyana’s current trajectory, by placing more emphasis on export if the country is to achieve the desired development and economic progress. He was speaking at the Pegasus Hotel, in Kingston, Georgetown, at the start of the FINPYME ExportPlus initiative, which is aimed at helping local small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) to be more competitive abroad.

The venture was initiated by the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), in partnership with the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED), which is responsible for executing the programme locally.

The US$40M project is funded with the support of the Republic of Korea through the Korea-IIC SME Development Trust Fund, used by the Korean Government to promote solidarity and foster cooperation among nations and ensuring that the lives and human dignity of the people in communities worldwide are protected.

Mr. Persaud observed that businesses are operating in an increasingly globalised world and urged the reorienting of traditional and non-traditional sectors, as a must, to address the increased competitiveness.

“The FINPYME ExportPlus is both necessary and useful,” he said.

According to him, growth and expansion will be stimulated once the local business community moves away from internal markets and explores other opportunities.

Persaud acknowledged that breaking into those markets are difficult but noted that initiatives like FINPYME ExportPlus assist entrepreneurs to attune themselves to the requirements of external markets.

In this way, he said Guyana will develop a robust export sector and, by extension, improve the development of the country.

NECESSARY
IIC Division Chief, Technical Assistance and Strategic Partnerships, Mr. Jorge Roldan said, being prepared is a must and partnerships are necessary, expressly in light of the fact that SMEs operate in a globalised economy.

Giving an overview of the scheme, he said, now that it has been inaugurated, applications will be invited and the selection of SMEs and the areas for technical assistance would follow.
The types of technical assistance include:
* the certification process, where the SMEs’ ability to comply with it in areas of sanitation, packaging and quality, among others, are improved;
* operations, where SMEs’ productivity is upgraded and
* management, where entrepreneurs are assisted to improve their skills in several areas, such as marketing, strategic planning and exports sale.
Roldan assured that, once the technical assistance is executed, SMEs are expected to be involved in knowledge sharing and evaluation.
To be eligible for participation, SMEs must have been in operation for at least three years, have an annual sale of at least US$200,000, operate in IIC eligible sectors and operate in compliance with environmental and occupational safety laws and regulations.
IIC supports countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and, to date, has been introduced also in Guatemala and Haiti, too.
IIC is a multilateral financial institution that is a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group. Its mission is to promote the economic development of its regional member countries by encouraging the establishment, expansion and modernisation of private enterprises.
IIC focuses on SMEs, providing them with long term financing to help in overcoming business challenges, reformulating business strategies and adopting new technologies.

NETWORKS
Chairman of IPED Board of Directors, Mr. Yesu Persaud said, with support from the innovation, SMEs can not only create wealth and jobs but establish networks with the outside world.
He said that SMEs, in reorienting themselves to export markets, must make sure they can produce quality in a competitive environment and deliver where, how and when products are required.
Persaud said Guyana has much potential for prosperity but the enabling environment needs to be there, through an undertaking by the Government.
He said, with the necessary support, SMEs will be able to make the paradigm shift and contribute to the development of the national economy, expressly since the Private Sector is considered the engine of growth.
In attendance, as well, were members of the Diplomatic Corps and representatives of the commercial banks, Ministry of Finance, the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).