STABROEK Online Marketplace (SOMP), a new platform that will be creating a space for local products to garner international attention, was launched on Tuesday during a ceremony held at the Marriott Hotel.
Chief Executive Officer of SOMP, Althea Toney, said that the e-commerce platform, which will officially become open to the public on May 19, will be efficient and transparent.
“We have diverse categories dictated by Guyanese businesses featuring products that enrich culture and improve quality of life. Stabroek ONLINE MARKETPLACE is open to early registration for sellers who will receive free subscription for 30 days after the platform goes live,” Toney said.

The platform will be equipped with international payment options.
Toney said the overarching aim of the platform is to work with local companies to optimise business transactions locally, increase their visibility both locally and internationally, increase market share and increase revenue opportunities.
“Stabroek Online Marketplace will be able to provide products unique to Guyana’s culture as well as the Guyanese tourism products,” Toney said.
The business will also have a travel agency section, Stabroek Travel, which will be promoting Guyana’s local tourism product.
The platform will also place emphasis on marketing Guyana’s agricultural products and support Guyana’s goal to be part of reducing the Caribbean food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025.
“Stabroek Online Marketplace is positioned to be a conduit for our agricultural products throughout the region,” Toney said.

Once launched in May, sellers on the platform will pay a fixed fee of US$40 in addition to a percentage of the sales, which will vary depending on the products.
President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Timothy Tucker, who was at the launch of the online platform, conveyed the GCCI’s full support for SOMP, noting that it will play a significant role in helping to promote small businesses in Guyana.
Tucker called the initiative timely given the current celebration of National Small Business Week.
“It goes without saying, it is part of the GCCI mandate to promote, support and help to market local entrepreneurs and local manufacturers. So this initiative is completely supported by the Chamber,” Tucker said.
Director of Business at the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, John Edghill, in his remarks, called on the developers of the platform to ensure that it focuses on decentralised businesses, and includes businesses from the interior region and does not focus only on businesses on the coastland.