—CEO cites rapid growth, private sector expansion as key drivers
—Bank targeting agribusiness, tourism, infrastructure

THE Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Invest is moving to make its financing to Guyana an annual commitment, signalling growing international confidence in the country’s fast-expanding economy.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IDB Invest, James Scriven, said the institution is shifting away from multi-year accumulation of investments and instead pushing for sustained yearly financing to match Guyana’s rapid pace of development.
IDB Invest is the private sector arm of the IDB Group.
During a special conversation themed “Growth in Motion: Unlocking Guyana’s Private Sector Potential,” Scriven revealed that he had already communicated this position to Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, and President Dr Irfaan Ali.
“About 260 million dollars I promised the minister and I told the president that we should be doing that on an annual basis over here, not thinking about accumulation over four or five years,” Scriven said.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government had long advocated for stronger engagement with IDB Invest. In the first three decades of Guyana’s membership, only four transactions totalling US$6 million were completed. Since 2020, however, that has shifted significantly, with some US$264 million in financing approvals for private sector projects across multiple sectors.
Scriven described Guyana as “an economy that’s growing very fast,” noting that development financing must keep pace with that expansion.
According to him, IDB Invest’s mandate is to support economic diversification across Latin America and the Caribbean, with a focus on sectors not directly tied to oil and gas.
“We as a development institution have a keen objective to diversify the economy… there are a number of sectors that are not being addressed directly by the discoveries,” he said.
He identified agribusiness, tourism, and infrastructure as priority areas for future investment.
Reflecting on Guyana’s evolving investment climate, Scriven said the most significant change has been the government’s approach to private sector engagement.
“I invest in 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean … and the biggest change… is the focus of governments on embracing the private sector for development purposes,” he said.
He added that Guyana has demonstrated a clear shift towards creating an enabling environment for investment.
“As a development institution, we focus a lot on creating the enabling environments for investments to happen… and that’s what I started seeing,” Scriven explained.
The CEO said this shift became evident through ongoing engagement with government and private sector stakeholders.
“We realised that something was happening… there was an inflection point,” he said, pointing to the country’s growing openness to private investment.
He also highlighted the strong business-driven environment during his most recent visit.
“As soon as I landed in Georgetown… we went straight to State House… it was all about business,” he said.
Scriven described the current momentum as transformative adding, “This is the beauty of the Guyana that we’re living now.”
GOV’T STANCE
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, reaffirmed that Guyana’s long-term economic strategy remains firmly anchored in private sector-led growth, supported by an enabling role for the State.
He emphasised that sustainable development depends on private investment in competitive and viable projects.
“We’ve always seen government’s role as creating the enabling environment, a conducive and attractive environment for attracting inward foreign direct investment, and for incentivising and encouraging domestic private investment,” he said.
Dr Singh also rejected the notion that pro-business policies conflict with public welfare.
“Pro-business policies are pro-people policies,” he stated.
He explained that economic empowerment is achieved through employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.
“People are economically empowered when they’re able to take care of themselves on the basis of their own financial earnings, either through gainful and productive and fulfilling employment, or similarly gainful and productive and fulfilling entrepreneurial opportunities,” he added.
The Finance Minister noted that long-term sustainability depends on enabling citizens of working age to become self-reliant.
“In the long term, there is no other sustainable option but to ensure that your population of working age is able to take care of itself,” he said
Scriven recently visited Guyana, where he held meetings with Dr Singh, senior government officials, and private sector representatives to explore investment opportunities and deepen economic co-operation.