PRESIDENT Dr Irfaan Ali has appealed to Guyana’s creative community, from visual artists to filmmakers and storytellers, to seize the opportunities that will be unlocked through the new Guyana Development Bank, which will offer interest‑free, collateral‑free financing backed by mentorship and technical support.
Speaking about the bank’s proposed model on Wednesday during a broadcast, President Ali stressed that the initiative is not limited to traditional sectors such as agriculture, but is deliberately designed to invest in talent, creativity, and cultural industries.
“One of the important aspects of this development bank, is that it gives us the opportunity now to invest in the talent, the creativity, the ideas of every Guyanese. You may have an artist with a creative idea. You may have someone with a good storyline for a short film. How do we invest in that?”
He underscored that the bank’s interest‑free, collateral‑free loans are intended to help build sustainable enterprises, not provide one‑off handouts or quick cash.
“Let me say to you that this is a business opportunity. This is a loan that is interest-free and collateral free, but it’s not a grant. It is meant to allow you to build a business, to build prosperity, to build an enterprise to build off of your creativity, to support your ideas, to support your entrepreneurial spirit.”
The Head of State explained that the bank’s structure with regional credit officers, facilitators and mentors will prioritise hand‑holding, financial literacy and business development support so that creatives can move from raw ideas to viable, income‑earning projects. He explained that this bottom‑up model is designed to help small ventures grow into larger enterprises, including in non‑traditional sectors such as the arts and film.
“The bank allows us to invest in talent, invest in ideas, and allows us, of course, in securing a path towards economic transformation through investment, through the broadening of access to credit,” he added.
President Ali urged creatives to approach the bank with a positive mindset and a willingness to put in the work required to turn their concepts into sustainable businesses. He made it clear that success under the scheme will depend on discipline, patience and sacrifice rather than a “quick spin.”
“I must say to all those who will be pursuing their initiatives under the Guyana Development Bank that this requires hard work. Yes, it will require you to put in the time, work hard… I want you to be prepared, I want you to understand that when we place this in the manifesto, we knew that for the success of this band, we have to also change mindset.”
Framing the Guyana Development Bank as a core manifesto promise, the President said the ultimate goal is to create long‑term income‑earning opportunities for thousands of Guyanese families.
He encouraged artists, writers, filmmakers, and other creatives to prepare their proposals and be ready to plug into the ecosystem of financing, mentorship and government support that will come on stream.
The bank will operate through a bottom‑up, field‑driven structure anchored by a board and chief executive officer at the top, and regional credit officers on the ground who will work directly with applicants to shape ideas, process interest‑free, collateral‑free loans and monitor projects.
These officers are supported by regional facilitators who will organise clusters of similar businesses, deliver financial literacy and basic management training, and link borrowers to wider government support.
He explained that as businesses grow, sector specialists and technical officers will step in to right‑size investments, provide technical advice and prepare projects for expansion with commercial banks, ensuring a continuous pipeline of support from start‑up through to larger‑scale operations, even after the initial loan is repaid.
Legalisation for the financial institution’s operationalisation was tabled in the National Assembly last Friday.
