-by David Clarke
The Guyana Development Bank is being positioned as a potential game-changer for small businesses and emerging entrepreneurs, with the Private Sector Commission saying its focus on startups and underserved borrowers could help unlock a new wave of Guyanese innovation.
PSC Chairman Captain Gerald Gouveia Junior says the bank addresses access to affordable financing, which has been a longstanding concern for the private sector.
For years, access to finance has been one of the private sector’s biggest concerns.
Now, with the establishment of the Guyana Development Bank, the Private Sector Commission says a new avenue is opening for entrepreneurs who may not have the collateral or financial history traditionally required by commercial lenders.
“What this development bank is doing is adding more opportunities for the Guyanese entrepreneur, the Guyanese startup, because that’s really where it’s geared. It’s not geared to the very large conglomerates. This is a bank that is geared to startups,” he said.
The bank is specifically geared toward smaller and emerging enterprises, including young entrepreneurs, university graduates and single mothers seeking to turn their ideas into viable businesses.
“It really opens up the floodgates for Guyanese innovation and Guyanese creativity to start earning some money,” he said.
The PSC Chairman says the Development Bank complements the growing number of commercial and development-financing institutions operating in Guyana, rather than competing directly with them.
The broader objective, he says, is to ensure more Guyanese can move from having a business idea to building a sustainable enterprise.