–with aim to expand avenues for long-term, sustainable revenue generation, President Ali announces

WITHIN the next three months, the Government of Guyana will unveil a suite of strategic investment projects designed to further promote collaboration between the government, the private sector, as well as Guyanese in the Diaspora, according to President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali.

The President made these remarks on Saturday at the opening of the SOMA Hotel and Restaurant at Houston, East Bank Demerara.

The upcoming projects are poised to form part of a broader effort to strengthen economic resilience, and bolster long-term sustainable growth.

President Ali said: “In another three months or less, we’ll be defining a number of projects that we will come to the private sector with our diaspora and say, ‘Here is it. We are presenting the fertiliser plant, opportunity in the gas to shore,’ and then bringing all our truckers together to understand that the new form of trucking will be transporting liquids from the gas project, and accepting a realistic path to long-term sustainable revenue generation.”

Additionally, the President outlined a co-investment model in which the government partners with the private sector, with the possibility of deferring its equity contribution.

“A path in which the government co-invests with the private sector. Government equity could be deferred equity and the private sector accept maybe a 10 per cent return, whereas safe vehicle, safe investment, safe return, sovereign in that it is national in nature,” he said, adding: “That is what we want to create.”

A key component of this strategy is the interest-free development bank, which the government is currently working to establish.

The bank will aim to provide accessible financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), thereby reducing reliance on traditional commercial banks, and their often restrictive collateral and interest requirements.

Most recently, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said that the government is moving to set up the zero-interest development bank.

About US$200 million in seed funding will be used in this venture. Dr. Jagdeo said the funds will be disbursed in tranches. Work on the concept has started, he said, and it could be operational by the end of 2026.

The bank will advance credit for small businesses at zero interest, and with fewer collateral requirements.

To hasten this commitment, an expert committee has been entrusted with formulating the model of the SME Development Bank.

They will need to study global experiences, delineate the legal and institutional framework, and identify the financial structures required to operationalise the bank.

Last month, the President announced a list of initiatives aimed at improving Guyana’s financial sector, making access to banking and lending services easier for citizens and businesses.

President Ali has since tasked a team comprising the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Guyana, and commercial banks with identifying loopholes in the sector.

Dr. Ali said that this action plan will focus on relaxing documentary conditions for borrowing and opening bank accounts, especially for new businesses, while encouraging banks to lend more based on movable assets as collateral.

The President also directed measures to be undertaken towards operationalising the movable assets registry in support of this effort.