Serial Guyanese entrepreneur offers comprehensive insight into corporate Guyana with release of new book

Jun 09, 2024 News

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By Darren Hinds

Kaieteur News – For entrepreneurs of any and all kinds, success depends on their own ability and diligence, but also on their business acumen and understanding of business concepts and practices. This kind of information is simply not equally accessible to everyone, and unfortunately many entrepreneurs, regardless of their background, do not have it completely.

This is why Kerensa ‘Kerri’ Gravesande-Bart’s Compilation of Corporate Governance Guidelines for Entrepreneurs, released on May 27^th, 2024, is so valuable, because it is basically a crash course in business and entrepreneurship that is heavily influenced by her experiences in the business world of Guyana.

This book is truly a comprehensive, detailed account of the frameworks and principles that entrepreneurs should employ to ensure that their ventures are successful and sustainable, so any entrepreneur, at any stage of their experience, would benefit greatly from securing a copy.

Gravesande-Bart is not only a devoted mother and wife, but also a serial entrepreneur and an absolute force in Guyana’s business arena, a balance which is incredibly hard to strike. Her accomplishments, especially in recent times, are an indicator of her tact, drive, and general affinity for business, and when this is observed in conjunction with her years’ worth of experience in the field, it is clear that she is a valuable asset to the general development of the Guyanese corporate arena.

Gravesande-Bart recognizes the opportunity that she has to improve the ability of the Guyanese people to participate in and contribute to the country’s business sector at a higher level; this ability comes through a thorough understanding of the concept of corporate governance, which most Guyanese do not possess at the moment.

With her involvement in the recent oil and gas industry developments in Guyana, Gravesande-Bart is fully equipped to impart knowledge about corporate governance to business-minded Guyanese at all levels; along with her husband, she co-founded Guyana’s first recruitment company and customs brokerage and logistics firm to service the oil and gas industry.

These are both 100% Guyanese owned, affirming her commitment to supporting and advancing Guyanese corporate interests. This commitment is exemplified from cover to cover in her recently published Compilation of Corporate Governance Guidelines for Entrepreneurs.

There is no shortage of obstacles and hindrances to efficient and successful corporate governance, and this book does a fine job of identifying and addressing them. Issues such as stakeholder management, compliances, rapid growth, and retaining control ­—which is of utmost importance to ventures that seek investors and collaborators— are all tackled in a way that prepares the reader for these inevitable challenges.

The goal with much of the content of the book is to equip new entrepreneurs with the skills to establish a solid foundation for their business and ensure longevity after the fact, and this comes through incorporating good corporate governance at all stages, which will put the business in a favourable position for increased growth and investment.

The key topics covered by Gravesande-Bart in her book are chosen in an intentional manner, and she focuses on concepts like risk management, financial reporting, transparency and disclosures, compliances, ethical decision making, and stakeholder engagement, as these are the core tenets of corporate governance and ensuring success for the business and the entrepreneur.

The author says that after she attended a corporate governance workshop in 2023, she began connecting the dots between her own entrepreneurial experiences and the information dispensed in the workshop, which prompted her to engage in focused research on the topic. This research, along with the skills and information she assimilated at the workshop and her own experience is essentially what has been compiled in the book.

The utility of the subject matter of the book should not be underestimated, and Gravesande-Bart promises that by prioritizing and improving corporate governance, organizations can expect to build trust and credibility due to the ethical nature of their business framework, creating access to resources/capital; they can also have the decision making process become simpler and quicker with a streamlined approach. Overall, this will result in long term sustainability, growth, and adaptability.

For women-led businesses, this is also a great resource because it comes from the perspective of the Co-Creator and Former President of Guyana’s Women’s chamber of commerce and Industry, so much of the information in terms of risk management, roles and responsibilities are coming from an informed position on women’s business and entrepreneurship experiences. Gravesande-Bart expects that this book will play a crucial role in the ongoing efforts to empower Guyanese women in business, as it will ensure that they understand their rights.

The author is proud to have released this book and to know that there is now a resource available for entrepreneurs in Guyana that stems from real entrepreneurial experience; young entrepreneurs should note that while it is always a positive to earn from your own experiences, one of the wisest things you can do is learn from the experiences of others, especially someone with as much experience as Gravesande-Bart. She intends for the book to be the first installment in a series, as she is committed to sharing her knowledge with Guyana and the world, and the second installment is already in the process of being compiled.

To aspiring entrepreneurs, she stresses that they should focus on creating a corporate governance framework

Compilation of Corporate Governance Guidelines for Entrepreneurs is now available in e-book format on Amazon, and physical copies will soon be available.

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• governance framework, Governance Guidelines, Guyana, Kerensa ‘Kerri’ Gravesande-Bart’, recruitment

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