–incoming chamber leader plans to advance several women empowerment initiatives, promote local content

IN a move being hailed as historic, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has elected its first female president, Kathy Smith.
This was disclosed by the Chamber at a press conference, which was held at the GCCI’s boardroom following its election on Friday.
At the GCCI’s 135th annual general meeting on Wednesday, the membership of the Chamber elected a 21-member council.

Subsequent to this, the 21-member council met on Friday to appoint persons to executive positions, and appoint chairpersons for the various committees.
Current council member, Richard Rambarran disclosed to members of the media during the press conference that Smith, the Managing Director of Dynotech Construction Chemicals Inc., was elected as the president.
This, he said, marks the first time in 136 years of the GCCI’s existence that a female has been elected to the helm of the organisation.

In her maiden address as President of the chamber, Smith noted that her appointment is not one that should be seen in a vacuum, as the GCCI has constantly been working towards ensuring that women are seen and heard.
Kathy, prior to her involvement in the private sector, was a teacher, who noted that she had a calling for the business world.
Upon completing her studies in Business Management, Smith moved to the Private Sector Commission, during which she discovered the work of the GCCI.

“When I ventured into entrepreneurship, and established my first company, it was only natural that I took the opportunity to become a member of the Chamber,” she said.
After becoming a member of the chamber in 2022, Smith quickly rose through the ranks and was appointed as the Vice-Chairperson of the construction and HSSE committee, and in the years following she was elected to the council.

Smith was later elected to the 21-member council, and served as secretary and placed focus on the capacity-building aspect of the secretariat and members of the chamber.
In 2024, she was again elected to the council and appointed to serve as Senior Vice President.
She told members of the media, “I think this really speaks to the GCCI and its commitment to not just women empowerment but inclusivity. In many organisations around the world but certainly in Guyana, this role would traditionally be filled by men.”

However, looking at the council, she remarked that there were and have been many women who served on the council and within the membership the percentage of women-owned or women-led businesses stands at almost 50 per cent.

“I am so pleased to be part of an organisation that celebrates and respects women,” she affirmed.
Meanwhile, during her address, Smith disclosed to members of the media that during her term as president, she wants to focus her commitment on building the capacity of the chamber’s membership.
As the first woman president, she added that she would also like to utilise the privilege to positively contribute to the development of women entrepreneurs.

Against this backdrop, she stated that with construction ongoing at the GCCI’s head office, an area is being developed to become a women’s microbusiness learning centre to focus on providing the necessary training for women entrepreneurs aimed and ensuring their businesses are sustainable and profitable.

Smith added, “My vision is to have the chamber of commerce establish programmes which support women being trained in financial literacy, digital marketing and of course negotiation.”
However, the new president emphasised the need for women entrepreneurs to prioritise compliance, as businesses need to be compliant with the country’s regulatory framework to access opportunities.
To this end, Smith vowed to advocate for incentives for women with consideration for a points reward system for women-led businesses that possess a local content certificate.
In this same vein with the opportunities, she noted that there is a need to equip women, and Guyanese in general need to continue to be able to guard against exploitation from foreign companies.

“I’m talking about foreign companies that use partnership with our local companies as a front then we have foreign companies that partner with our local firms and engage in double dipping,” she said.
Explaining double dipping, she said that this term refers to the foreign companies forcing the local partners to procure their products from the foreign parent company at inflated prices.
Smith said firmly that this practice needs to end as it is unethical and violates to spirit and intent of local content.

She said that these are just a few areas that she intends to tackle during her tenure as president and expressed her gratitude to the membership of the chamber, the council and the executive.