THE economic transformation of Guyana is becoming less a story of oil and more about how the country can use its unprecedented revenues and growing economic capacity to build a broader, more resilient and prosperous economy.
That was one of the key messages from President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s business roundtable in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, where he met with private-sector and business leaders through the Americas Society/Council of the Americas.
The President’s focus on agriculture, mining, construction, eco-tourism and financial services is particularly timely.
These are sectors that can create jobs, expand domestic enterprise and grow economic activity outside of petroleum.
The latest numbers put a lot of weight on that proposition.
The Mid-Year Report of Guyana for 2026 estimated that real GDP grew by 33.3 per cent in the first half of the year and the non-oil economy grew by 10.1 per cent.
The full-year growth outlook has been revised to 20.8 per cent, with non-oil growth seen at 10.2 per cent, mining and quarrying rose by an estimated 40.7 per cent in the first six months, construction by 24.7 per cent, services by 7.2 per cent and manufacturing by three per cent.
Agriculture also posted gains in several subsectors, although excessive rainfall led to a marginal contraction across agriculture, forestry and fishing as a whole.
These are numbers that matter, because you can’t just say diversification, you have to see it in economic activity, investment and employment.
There is also encouraging evidence that the expansion is spreading to the labour market. Employment grew from 264,862 in the first quarter of 2020 to 421,334 by the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 156,472 people.
Over the same period, unemployment dropped from 12.8 per cent to 6.2 per cent and labour-force participation rose from 50.4 per cent to 59.2 per cent.
Those figures add an important human dimension to what might otherwise be just abstract GDP statistics.
The private sector accounted for 60.4 per cent of employment in the fourth quarter of 2025. Construction, wholesale and retail trade, agriculture, manufacturing and other industries accounted for significant shares of employment.
At the same time, investment is laying the physical foundation for additional growth.
Government capital expenditure was near $250 billion in the first half of 2026 and private sector credit expanded by 11.5 per cent. Real estate mortgages increased by 21.2 per cent as lending increased for private dwellings, industrial and commercial properties.
The importance of roads, bridges, housing, energy infrastructure, schools and healthcare facilities therefore goes beyond the immediate construction activity they generate.
Good infrastructure reduces the cost of doing business, enhances connectivity, supports communities and can provide the platform on which private investment and entrepreneurship can thrive.
The international assessment of the direction of Guyana’s economy is relevant here too.
The International Monetary Fund has lauded the country’s strides in economic diversification, infrastructure and energy resilience, human capital enhancement and the growth of sectors like construction, hospitality, tourism, light manufacturing, agri-business and financial services. The Fund has also highlighted the significance of productivity, skills development and export diversification for longer-term sustainable development.
Guyana should therefore welcome the rising international interest in its investment opportunities, while remaining focused on ensuring that investment yields durable domestic value.
This is where the President’s interaction with business leaders comes in. International investors need opportunities, but Guyana needs investment that builds local business, develops skills, creates quality employment, expands productive capacity and opens new markets for Guyanese goods and services.
Agriculture is an obvious area for opportunity. Guyana has substantial land and water resources and wants to be a major food producer and regional food hub. More investment in agro-processing, storage, logistics, technology and value-added production could enable the country to earn more from its agricultural output while creating opportunities for farmers and entrepreneurs.
Diversification opportunities are also available through tourism and eco-tourism, especially if investment is not limited to Georgetown and the well-established destinations, but is extended to creating sustainable opportunities for hinterland and rural communities.
The conversation must also include financial services, technology, manufacturing and other emerging industries if Guyana is to develop an economy that can create opportunities for the next generation.
So, the question is not whether Guyana is growing. The evidence strongly suggests that it is.
The more pressing question is how well the country uses this exceptional period of growth to create lasting improvements in productivity, living standards and economic resilience.
This means sustained focus on education and training, health care, affordable and reliable energy, infrastructure, access to finance, transparent regulation and a business environment where local entrepreneurs can compete and grow.”
It needs discipline too. Fast growth is an opportunity but can also create pressures, including inflation, capacity constraints and exposure to international commodity movements. Macroeconomic stability, fiscal sustainability and resilience are important as the transformation continues, the IMF has said, noting Guyana’s expansion is strong.
Guyana is thus correct to aggressively market itself to the international investment community. But success will not be measured by the number of investors who attend a roundtable or the size of investment commitments announced.
It will be the productive factories, the more efficient farms, the growing businesses, the young people with valuable skills, the workers with sustainable employment and the communities with improved infrastructure and services.
Guyana has a great opportunity in front of us. The challenge now is to ensure that today’s economic momentum becomes tomorrow’s productive capacity and that the benefits of transformation are felt throughout the economy and across the country.
Thus, the message from New York should be seen not merely as an invitation to investors, but as a statement of national ambition: Guyana has entered upon a new economic era, and its success will ultimately depend on how wisely it seizes that opportunity.