International Business Conference opens

Oct 16, 2024 News

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…set to drive transformative collaboration for Guyana, Suriname

Kaieteur News – The inaugural International Business Conference (IBC) kicked off on Tuesday at the Guyana Marriott Hotel Georgetown.

The event, which will run until October 17, is expected to be a pivotal platform for fostering collaboration, investment, and growth between businesses from Guyana, Suriname, and beyond.

During his address at the opening ceremony, Dr. Vishnu Doerga, Chairman of the Suriname-Guyana Chamber of Commerce said that the event saw immediate success with over 100 business-to-business (B2B) meetings held since registration opened earlier in the afternoon. Dr. Doerga added, “The team has a bet going on to see if we can get to 1000, but it’s really nice to see all these businesses making connections.”

The idea for the IBC, according to Dr. Doerga, stemmed from the growing success of B2B missions between Guyana and Suriname.  “Today we have a lot of members who have already started doing joint ventures with each other, they found suppliers, and as you know, the Suriname Chamber of Commerce was really established to foster those relations between our two countries, to really help local businesses expand their networks and create opportunities across the borders,” he added.

Dr. Deorga further stated that the need for a world-class platform that brings together local and international businesses, government agencies, and foreign missions to exchange ideas and form strategic partnerships all contributed to the IBC being crafted.

The IBC, he emphasised, aims to fulfill this need and is a private-sector-led initiative. A similar conference will be held in February 2025 in Suriname. Dr. Doerga also pointed out the international scope of the event, noting that half of the attendees were international businesses, many of whom are visiting Guyana for the first time. He remarked that these businesses were particularly eager to explore the opportunities the country has to offer.

Moreover, he also spoke about the IBC mobile app, which was designed to facilitate connections between delegates. “Through the app, delegates can connect and book their B2B meetings. The app is really designed to ensure that you can maximize your time here and make the connections that lead to meaningful partnerships, whether you’re in agriculture, manufacturing, or infrastructure. The platform makes it very easy to engage with others in your field. So, I encourage you to use it fully,” Dr. Doerga said.

The conference features over 1,000 Guyanese companies, showcasing the best of what Guyana and Suriname have to offer. “The booths really showcase the best of what Guyana and Suriname have to offer and represent the backbone of the countries’ business ecosystem,” Dr. Doerga stated. Additionally, he highlighted the importance of both countries as key investment destinations.

Dr. Doerga underscored, “Guyana is already experiencing rapid development with its economy accelerated due to a combination of robust natural resources, investments in infrastructure, and the growing business community. Suriname, too, is now more than ever poised for similar growth, and we expect its economic acceleration to be driven by the same strategic factors that have boosted Guyana.”

The IBC is set to continue with more networking opportunities and strategic discussions over the next two days.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) Ramsay Ali told the audience that there are lots of manufacturing and investment opportunities in Guyana. He warned however, that that action should be taken immediately as they may wake up one day and see that everything is gone or going.

Speaking on some of the challenges manufactures currently face in the country, he explained that over the years they have not seen many benefits for them in relation to energy, taking into consideration the current rates. “I’m talking strictly about manufacturing here at all levels, relevant to any kind of advantage, to our Caribbean counterparts, or any Latin American counterparts relevant to energy cost, and it looks that very shortly that is going to change,” he said.

He further explained that, “We have, you know, we’ve been told, and we know this is a fact, because we are paying attention, that the cost of energy in this country is going to go down almost like 50% but what is important to note, it’s not only about the cost of energy, it’s also and if you want to talk to manufacturers in this room, the issue was not only about cost, but it was also about the quality of energy that manufacturers receive.”

He said in the manufacturing sector there are a lot of sensitive equipment being used and it is unfortunate that over the years GPL was not able to supply the quality energy needed for their operations. However with the Gas to Energy project coming on stream Ali is confident that manufacturers will not only have the quality energy required but also costs will be significantly reduced.

He also highlighted that the government is spending a significant amount of funds to have the grid up to a place where manufactures can feel comfortable and investors can be confident enough to bring their equipment and benefit from something good.

Ali informed the business community that the GMSA engaged the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) two and a half years ago to conduct a feasibility study on a large project in relation to glass production, since currently all is imported.

 

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• energy costs, GMSA, GTE, Guyana

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