–President Ali says gov’t to support youth entrepreneurship, consortiums to drive will shape next generation of innovators

President Dr Irfaan Ali has outlined plans to use the forthcoming Guyana Development Bank as a tool to nurture entrepreneurship among young people, with a particular focus on students in sixth form and those preparing to leave school.

During an engagement with women journalists and students on Tuesday, he explained that the initiative would introduce youths to the concept of working in consortiums, encouraging collective thinking and collaboration at an early stage of life.

“[So] if you have these young people, 15-20 of them and [they] say we have this great business idea. What that does is create a society that is innovative in its thinking and analytic in its approach. It places a next generation of young people who will be forward thinkers, who will be looking to apply themselves in what? Wealth creation is a productive activity.”

Under the approach, students would be guided to develop business ideas in groups and receive support through the Development Bank to finance those ideas, without the traditional barriers of collateral or interest requirements. The President highlighted that this model would especially benefit young people and enable them to pursue innovative ventures together.

Back in November, the President had announced that the Development Bank would be capitalised with a minimum of US$200 million and is expected to become operational before the end of the first quarter of 2026.

He noted that the bank will operate in close integration with commercial banks, with the goal of unlocking greater access to capital.

A special incentive regime will be introduced to encourage commercial banks to expand lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), mirroring the incentives offered to banks in the housing sector.

In return, commercial banks will be required to lower interest rates to below four per cent and reduce collateral requirements for SME borrowers.