–with first purchase from Prime Minister Mottley

ONE of Guyana’s newest electronic shopping platforms, Stabroek Online Marketplace (SOM), was activated on Thursday with the purchase of an item by Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley.

Prime Minister Mottley, who was in Guyana for the inaugural Agri-Investment Forum and Expo from May 19-21, visited SOM’s booth at the ‘expo’ and, upon the invitation of President Dr. Irfaan Ali, purchased an oil painting titled “Cultured Frog”, done by Guyanese artist, Diana Luke-King.

According to a press release, the company is an e-commerce platform created mainly to facilitate Guyanese businesses that are buying and selling across local, regional and international borders.

The platform also includes another division, Stabroek Travel, which is an e-booking platform for local tour experiences and accommodation.

The company’s services were marketed on a large scale during the recent three-day forum and ‘expo’ at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

Chief Executive Officer of SOM, Althea Toney, was quoted in the release as saying: “SOM was delighted to participate in this inaugural event as we sought to showcase Guyana’s agro-processors and producers of food items on the international market.

“Guyana once was referred to as the breadbasket of the Caribbean’ and slowly we are returning to those glorious days. With the right kind of investments happening and with the right people having dialogues we can begin to see the policies being implemented to ensure food security.”

Toney further added: “At SOM, we want to make sure that our local producers of food have access to the regional market, thereby assisting in achieving the goals set out by CARICOM to reduce the region’s food import bill by 2025.

“Additionally, the Private Sector’s involvement in assisting CARICOM is essential if we want the 2025 goal to be achieved, and I believe this forum provides an excellent platform for essential decisions to be made by our regional stakeholders and governments.”

The inaugural Agri–Investment Forum and Expo forms part of a wider plan by the Community (CARICOM) to reduce the region’s multibillion-dollar food-import bill by 25 per cent by 2025.
Patrons who visited the booth were also encouraged to sign up as well as sell their products or services on the SOM portal. The company said sellers who register now will receive a free 30-day subscription.