IN a bid to support the burgeoning entrepreneurial landscape in Guyana, a Dominican Republic (DR)-based company, PYHEX | Work, specialised in offering flexible workplace solutions, event rooms and administrative services for startups and businesses, is eyeing expansion here.

The move comes at a time when Guyana is witnessing a surge in investments, particularly in industries such as oil and gas.
Recently, Kiana Wilburg, the incoming Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo, during a recent podcast, spoke with Rudy Ganna, President and CEO of PYHEX| Work, about how his company could contribute to Guyana’s development.

According to him, he visited Guyana about 12 years ago and is fascinated by how the country has evolved.
“I’m so really genuinely happy. The opportunities are here and a lot of people will come because there is money,” Ganna said.

He has founded more than 100 companies across 40 countries. Ganna related that his work in innovation and technology has had a significant impact on many individuals, and that his company could help Guyana revolutionise business opportunities.

First, he said that the issue of centralisation, which is a global concern, must be investigated, and he utilised the situation in Santo Domingo—the Dominican Republic’s capital—to make his argument. He noted that if Georgetown develops like there, nothing will work.

Ganna related: “Santo Domingo has four million people…nothing works. Traffic from morning to night… healthcare infrastructure [is] debilitating. They [the authorities] do their best but when you have a high concentration of people, what happens is that it impoverishes the history and culture of your country because at end, if every coast loses all the people because they come to work in Santo Domingo, you will centralise all your people to one location…”

The Dominican Republic has approximately 11.4 million people, and Ganna feels that Santo Domingo is not intended for more than two million.
Owing to the huge concentration of people in that country’s capital city, he said that a study was conducted to determine where the people are, what they do, how educated they are, and how to create job opportunities for them.

If given the opportunity to work in Guyana, the businessman stated that this is the first thing he would do.
“I’ll do this by going on the location and assessing clearly with a lot of people, how the people are and how we can bring jobs to them and what kind of jobs,” Ganna said.

As the previous President of the Dominican Republic Call Centre Association, Ganna has had a successful career in the field and has urged Guyana to capitalise on opportunities in this sector.
He said: “I was very successful in call centres. I created a lot of firms. I was the president of the Call Centre Association of the Dominican Republic for over three years.”

Ganna highlighted that those who work in call centres could apply their gained talents, such as discipline and methodology, to become entrepreneurs. He reasoned that these abilities prepare you for the workforce and can lead to entrepreneurship.
“If you create entrepreneurs, you create jobs. Eighty-five per cent of the jobs in the United States are hired by small and medium enterprises. If you want this country to flourish more, you need more entrepreneurs,” the CEO said.

The businessman advised Guyana to employ technology to drive economic development and invest in education for its people.
He said: “Investing in education, for me, is the most important thing. Investing in education will always go back to you. You will always have incredible results.”