A NATIONAL financial literacy programme forms part of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C)’s vision to empower Guyanese by promoting safe and prudent investment practices.
Statistics show that citizens make better-informed decisions about their finances and when educated, their savings behaviour, access to credit and business outcomes – especially for women and youths – can significantly improve.
People’s Progressive Party General Secretary and Guyana’s Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, last Thursday, spoke about plans to conduct a nationwide financial literacy programme.
Floyd Haynes, Founder and Chairman of New Hayven Merchant Bank has offered his decades of experience in finance, the Vice-President said, noting that Haynes has already put forth a course outline.
Dr. Jagdeo said that this will be done on a large scale, it will reach Amerindian communities, target rice farmers, policemen and women, nurses and other professionals in both the public and private sectors.
The Vice President said: “This is the sort of thing we’re looking to the future for. Serious business, talking to our people about investing their money because they’re going to get more money. They’re going to earn more; they’re going to save more. We want them to earn the maximum amount from their savings now.
“How to invest their savings so they can make more money. And this is not for the middle class or upper class. This is for everyone… we want that done there, too. So, that’s what we’re pushing.”
Many young Guyanese are becoming entrepreneurs and as such, the government has decided to create massive investment vehicles for the ordinary citizens.
Notably, the Small Business Bureau (SBB), under the Ministry of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce (MTIC), successfully trained approximately 10,893 small businesses in 2024.
This marks a significant milestone in the bureau’s mission to foster entrepreneurship, and strengthen the micro and small-business sectors across Guyana.
From 2020 to 2024, the Bureau reported a notable increase in the number of small businesses benefitting from its training programmes.
Key areas of training included: Small-Business Management; Financial Management and Record Keeping; Business Proposal Writing; Guyanese Business Toolkit; Marketing Fundamentals; Delivering Quality Service, and a Label Designing Workshop.
These programmes were designed to equip entrepreneurs with essential skills to manage, grow, and sustain their businesses, while contributing to the national economy.
Building on this momentum, the government has pledged to establish a development bank to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs), through zero interest loans. Preferential help will be given to women and young people, the Vice-President has said.