$154B in investments, over 5000 jobs next year– Go-Invest

THE Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) has anticipated investments of around $154B next year, Finance Minister,Winston Jordan announced in his budget speech on Monday.

He said the entity is projecting that the investments will create some 5,725 jobs but there was no mention where the investments will come from. Jordan said the entity facilitated almost $23 billion in investments this year which, over time, will create over 970 jobs across various sectors, including services, agriculture and energy.

In addition, GO-Invest will be hosting the first-ever Guyana Trade and Investment Exposition, aimed at promoting collaboration between private sector actors towards knowledge sharing and creating business partnerships. According to Jordan, the office anticipates up to 75 businesses participating in the Exposition, in April, 2018. Finally, work on updating the National Export and Investment Strategy will commence in the new year.

Meanwhile, the finance minister said that his administration recognises the important role that entrepreneurship and, in turn, the private sector, plays in generating employment and income. He said it is imperative, therefore, that they continue to strengthen the fabric of micro and small businesses, especially those owned by vulnerable groups, through the alleviation of prohibitive constraints.

He said established enterprises have a crucial part to play in nurturing micro and small businesses, just as government has done, and continues to do, for both domestic and international enterprises through the facilitation of an enabling environment. “The Small Business Bureau (SBB) has directly supported over 1100 budding entrepreneurs in 2017. More than 168 young persons benefitted from business grants, as part of the YouthBiz 592 project, as well as, a pilot in-school entrepreneurship project.”

Jordan said a further 160 micro and small businesses directly benefitted from improved access to finance through the disbursement of business grants and loans by the Micro and Small Enterprise Development (MSED) project. A total of 392 jobs were created and 831 persons from the hinterland and coastland received training in areas related to business development.

According to the minister, a new initiative to support small businesses, in 2018, is the establishment of a $100 million revolving fund, to finance businesses whose goods and services are sustainable and environmentally friendly. “Mr. Speaker, additional support to micro and small businesses will be delivered, in 2018, through the creation of business incubators and accelerators, in Regions 5 and 9, at a cost of $36 million.” These structures will foster the growth of businesses by facilitating the provision of support services, such as business registration, documentation, and capacity building, Jordan posited.

Further, he said through the establishment of business registration hubs, like the one opened in Lethem (Region 9) this year, and the upcoming one in Mahdia (Region 8), “ we will continue to improve the ease of doing business. In 2018, four other business registration hubs will be established in Regions 1, 5, 6 and 10.”

The Finance Minister told the House that despite government’s best efforts to alleviate the financial constraints facing businesses, access to credit still prohibits investment and growth of enterprises. “We will continue to devise strategies to address this problem such as the implementation of a Secure Transaction Regime, in 2018.

This will allow for easier access to financing using moveable collateral.” He said while the focus is on nurturing micro and small businesses, works on the Lethem Industrial Estate and the Belvedere Industrial Estate will continue into the new year. An allocation of $350 million has been made for the completion of works, in 2018. These estates are expected to have a combined capacity of about 250 to facilitate value-added production, while benefitting from economies of scale.

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