THE owners of several Region Two businesses are currently participating in a two-day business development workshop during which they will learn about the exporting process, accessing loans and how to package and market their products.
The workshop which was organised by Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest), the Small Business Bureau, Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) and the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), is being held in the regional vice-chairman’s boardroom.
The training commenced on Tuesday, June 29 and is slated to conclude on Wednesday, June 30.
During the first day, Senior Export Promotion Officer, Kibbyann Chester Harding, educated business owners about the mandate of Go-Invest and the exporting process.
In explaining the procedure involved in exporting, she told the participants that step one begins with the registration of the business. The exporter is then required to have a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), she said.
According to the Go-Invest official, the next step is to identify the source of the product or products being exported. She advised exporters to always consider where a steady supply of product could be sourced from, beforehand.

Harding indicated that the next step which is Step 4 involves the identification of external markets, packaging requirements, the acquisition of the appropriate licence, identification of the mode of transport, whether air or sea. The final two steps in the process involve the identification of a broker followed by the exporting of the product.
She assured the business owners that the Guyana Office for Investment will always be available to give them the necessary advice and guidance.
Harding emphasised that Guyana is an excellent jurisdiction for investors. She outlined that the country is known as a business-friendly destination as there is a wide range of incentives and protections for foreign and local investors. Meanwhile, Director of Investment, Samora Watkins, during one of the presentations showed the business owners how to put together a business proposal. There was particular focus on the executive summary, description of the company, description of ownership, management and organisation, local content plan, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plan, breakdown of products and services, environmental impact, market analysis, competitive analysis, marketing plan, sales plan, project timeline, financials and items for future and tax waivers.

Assistant Agriculture Development Officer at the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), Amit Parbat, focused on packaging and labelling. He emphasised that it is important that products are properly labelled and packaged whenever leaving Guyana or even when they are being marketed locally.
He also told business owners that GMC will provide whatever assistance is necessary to make their businesses a success.
General standards in packaging and accessing loans and grants through the Small Business Bureau, is on the agenda for today’s session.
All of the participants are members of the Essequibo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCI). The training which is free of cost, was organised following a request made by the ECCI to Go-Invest. The owner of Miracle Oils, Tatyana Moore, told the Guyana Chronicle that the training thus far has been very educational and she is happy that she decided to participate.
She said she has learnt many new things and as the owner of a thriving business, she plans to practise what she has learnt from the training.
Research and Advocacy Officer at Go-Invest, June Ann Kowlessar, is among the officials at the workshop.