PRESIDENT, Dr Irfaan Ali’s bold plan to place young entrepreneurs at the heart of Guyana’s economic change may be the best way to escape the “resource curse” that has caused problems for many oil-rich developing countries.

The opening of the World Trade Centre Georgetown and the announcement of support for small and medium businesses show a government that knows a key fact: Lasting success requires more than just pulling resources from the ground.

The timing of these efforts could not be more crucial. Since 2022, Guyana has the world’s highest GDP growth rate, averaging an impressive 47 per cent each year, mainly thanks to its booming oil sector.

However, history warns us of countries that wasted similar opportunities. The Netherlands, which gave us the term “Dutch disease”, saw its non-oil exports struggle when significant gas money entered the economy in the 1960s.

Nigeria shows an even more alarming example, where oil revenue per person rose from $33 to $325 between 1965 and 2000, yet the number of people living on less than $1 a day nearly tripled.

What makes Guyana’s plan convincing is its focus on economic diversification before the symptoms of the Dutch disease can fully appear.

The proposed industrial manufacturing and agro-processing hub, supported by partnerships with global companies like Bloomberg Grain, represents a forward-thinking investment in infrastructure.

Successful resource economies like Norway and Botswana have used similar strategies. By building world-class facilities for small farmers and processors to meet international standards from the start, the government is creating the economic strength needed to avoid the pitfalls of the resource curse.

The emphasis on youth entrepreneurship deserves special attention. This approach addresses a major issue in small islands and developing nations.

The Pacific region, facing challenges similar to those in the Caribbean, has noted that youth entrepreneurship is “a practical way to stop rising youth unemployment”, with young people often six times more likely to be jobless than adults.

Guyana’s Youth Entrepreneurship Programme, which offers funding and mentorship to 60 students from various regions, puts this idea into practice.

The suggested co-investment model for small and medium enterprises shows a thoughtful approach to economic policy. Instead of simply handing out oil revenues, the government plans to lower financing costs and lending risks for financial institutions while keeping market order.

This approach is similar to successful diversification efforts in resource-rich countries that avoided the curse through strong institutions and sensible policies. Some critics might say these plans are too ambitious or premature. However, waiting until oil revenues peak before seeking diversification has led to disasters in many resource economies.

The IMF predicts Guyana’s economy will keep growing at 14 per cent annually over the next five years, with the non-oil sectors also growing strongly.

This suggests that the economic basis for these transformative investments is solid. The World Trade Centre Georgetown, as CARICOM’s first such facility, stands for more than just infrastructure development; it shows Guyana’s aim to be a regional hub rather than just another site for resource extraction.

By linking local businesses to a global network of 100 countries and over one million business contacts, the facility builds the important connections needed for sustainable economic diversification.

President Ali’s vision of young Guyanese entrepreneurs taking “center stage” in the country’s economic transformation gives real hope that this South American nation can tell a different story than many resource-rich countries before it.

The issue is not whether Guyana can afford these investments; it’s whether it can afford not to make them.