Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo inspects the High Fiber Whole Wheat Flour produced by the National Milling Company of Guyana Inc (NAMILCO) (Adrian Narine photo)
– as inaugural GuyTIE gets underway
As the much talked about Guyana Trade and Investment Exhibition (GuyTIE) 2018 commenced on Thursday, several stakeholders in the business community have hailed day one a success.
The inaugural trade and exhibition event will run until Saturday and is being hosted at the Marriott Hotel through collaboration with the Ministry of Business; the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) and Private Sector Associations in Guyana. Over 50 export-ready businesses are set to come in contact with over 100 investors from the continents of North America, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean at the strictly Business-to-Business (B2B) event.
As a pilot, business executive and well-known environmentalist, Annette Arjoon spoke to the Guyana Chronicle on the sidelines about her expectations for the days to come. “What I would hope that some of our exhibitors would really share with our international and regional buyers is their sustainable development processes in their production. For example, companies like Banks DIH that has their waste water treatment plant — that is a very big investment [as well as] Demerara Bank that has their renewable energy solar unit providing power from the entire bank.”
Arjoon added that it is very important that companies which are going green are given the spotlight to showcase their products which coincide with the country’s Green State Development Strategy (GSDS).
RAISED THE BAR
“I commend Mr. Verwey (Guyana Office for Investment CEO) and his team for hosting such another amazing and impressive event and the fact that they did it in such a short time is truly a feat and I can definitely see that the quality of exhibits here are way above the bar than we would have seen a year or two ago,” she further stated.
Present, too, was President of the American Chamber of Commerce of Guyana (AMCHAM), Zulfikar Ally who also made his thoughts public on the event.
“I’m happy to see so many foreign visitors here, companies who are interested in working with Guyana and working with local businesses as well. I think that was the main purpose of the event so I think it has been a success so far, from what I’m seeing,” he said. Ally added that he shares the sentiments made by President David Granger during GuyTIE’s opening ceremony where he called for government and private sector collaboration to aid Guyanese businesses in penetrating the global market.
“No one can do this alone. The government cannot do it alone and definitely the private sector can’t do it alone so we have to work together, so I’m happy to hear that the President has reiterated that and I know that the private sector organisations in Guyana are willing to work with the Government of Guyana, especially at this juncture,” Ally stated. AMCHAM, established just last August, now has some 35 members and Ally told this newspaper that by the next year the chamber hopes to be able partner with the government to attract more investors to the country.
In the meanwhile, his recommendation to other local businesses towards becoming export-ready; is to be aware of the sector they are in, what type of certification they will need and the necessary regulatory bodies which can assist.
NOT LIKE BEFORE
“My advice to businesses in Guyana is: you have to make the investment in your companies. It’s not like how it was before, you have to have good systems in place, you have to have management systems in place, quality assurance and certifications have to be there for both local and international [markets] especially if you’re looking to expand your business,” he alerted.
Meanwhile, welcoming the GuyTIE initiative to Guyana for its trickle-down effect was President of The Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), Mitra Ramkumar. Ramkumar noted that the trade expo coincides with the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions’ (MICE) strategy of business tourism which is a big moneymaker in the travel industry.
“From this event you will see the international pull where it gets people to your destination, [to] fill hotel rooms, fill restaurants and bars. So the off spin, although we came to have the conference, the conference of itself drives up consumer capacity but when people come to your country it has a trickledown effect which is what tourism does for you. It benefits all the other sectors,” he explained.
Much like the others, President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA), Shyam Nokta said the association, which is a part of the steering committee, is pleased with the events of day one.
GMSA also had over 10 of its members represented at the booths on display. “The opportunity to interact with buyers of the region and elsewhere is obviously something that the manufacturing sector has been pushing for a long time so that we can elevate our products to the point where they can continue to access and to have a greater access in the region and international markets,” Nokta said. He added that although it is too soon to clearly state what improvements can be made for the next GuyTIE event, an evaluation definitely will be conducted in this regard. Today, private B2B meetings will continue between exhibitors and potential buyers while the general public will have the opportunity to visit the event on Saturday by purchasing tickets from any GTT outlet.
Source: Guyana Chronicle By Lisa Hamilton
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