THE Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has said it would be looking at expanding its membership base, as it continues on the path of formulating and implementing initiatives to benefit the business community in Guyana.

In delivering his address at the chamber’s annual general meeting last Tuesday, President of the GCCI Clinton Urling said the body will continue its aggressive pace of formulating and implementing initiatives to benefit the local business community.
Urling said it was his hope that many more businesses would join the Chamber, since these initiatives will be more successful through a collective approach.
He said, the GCCI’s best impact arises in their collective voices through which one is effectively empowered to exercise his/her rightful role in building and shaping Guyana’s economic future.
He noted that during 2012-2013 the Chamber embarked on numerous initiatives aligned precisely to strategic priorities. Notable among these initiatives were the hosting of a series of capacity-building seminars covering a broad range of areas critical to business success, and the creation of a membership category catering to the small and micro business community.
The Chamber during this period had also established an advocacy committee to articulate, in a unified voice, policy issues affecting the business community.
He said that the GCCI have dramatically raised their public profile by engaging and utilising traditional and social media channels, along with various public forums. Additionally, the GCCI commissioned two surveys to capture the thoughts of membership in efforts to improve services and policymakers about what matter most to the private sector.
GCCI acting Executive Director, Bonita Lowden stated that the Chamber was certainly a champion for a strong and local economy and for businesses adding that GCCI has managed to successfully accomplish an enormous number of activities for the year, and has truly served as the voice of Guyana’s business community with much vigour and presence in the public’s domain.
She stressed that the GCCI has addressed hundreds of inquiries from people interested in doing business in Guyana and worked with organisations and companies that were looking to expand and create jobs.