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GuyExpo 2025 opens
…as Pres..Ali rolls out incentives for farmers, small businesses
By Shervin Belgrave
(Kaieteur News) – Guyana’s largest trade exposition—GuyExpo 2025 officially opened on Thursday evening with a massive 305 booths and 297 exhibitors, marking the event’s 30th anniversary with unprecedented scale and ambition.
Being held at the Sophia Exhibition Centre under the theme “Transformation through Entrepreneurship and Innovation,” the Expo’s opening ceremony, scheduled for 5 PM, got underway an hour late but wasted no time highlighting Guyana’s accelerating economic growth.
Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Susan Rodrigues, at the launch of Guy Expo 2025.
President Mohamed Irfan Ali while delivering the feature address noted that GuyExpo 2025 reflects Guyana’s growing economy.
“The best is yet come”, he said while listing 6 pillars on which his government plans to transform Guyana.
The six pillars he listed are: a digital revolution, industrialisation, food security, energy security, climate and biodiversity services, and tourism.
To make his government’s plan a reality, the President said that there will be a number of incentives in the 2026 budget directed towards the agricultural, industrial and manufacturing sectors.
“We are launching a national digitisation infrastructure, that is second to none an infrastructure that will hold the system accountable ” the President said before explaining that for industrialisation his government will be building out industrial and manufacturing estates all across the country.
Scenes from GuyExpo 2025
“Berbice, Molesen Creek, Lethem, Enmore, already in Linden and Region 2”, he said while adding, “In the 2026 budget there will be special initiatives announced for manufacturing and industrial development using local input in all of these areas, special tax incentives and a special regime ”
He continued that with food security, it means positioning Guyana in terms of food production.
For Tourism, the sixth pillar, President Ali said that his government has already sent expression of Interest for nine areas.
“…We want massive tourism projects of an international standard that are deeply integrated into the global eco-tourism market because we are going to invest to position Guyana as a front runner in eco and nature-based product.”
Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Susan Rodrigues flanked by her ministerial colleagues cut the ribbon to officially open GuyExpo 2025.
He then went on to mention a series of incentives that will be in the 2026 budget for farmers and small businesses.
He spoke of a mega food park modelled off a number of countries which includes China, the Dominican Republic and several others.
He also said that government will be assisting rice farmers to diversify their lands by converting two acres out of every 10 acres of their lands for livestock and swine production.
SMEs thrive
Also addressing the gathering, Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Susan Rodrigues said that thousands of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) across Guyana have experienced remarkable growth over the past five years, bolstered by robust government support. She highlighted that through the Small Business Bureau (SBB) alone, more than 13,000 small businesses have been empowered with vital training opportunities.
In 2025, over 2,700 businesses received training, contributing to this impressive total since 2020, the minister noted. Nearly 4,000 businesses have also benefited from small business grants, resulting in an investment of $1 billion, enabling them to grow into competitive enterprises thriving in both local and global markets. “That is the real story of Guyana’s economic growth,” Rodrigues said. She described GuyExpo as a reflection of Guyana’s dynamic development since 2020, driven by “innovation, investment, and resilience.” Urging exhibitors to seize the moment, Rodrigues said, “This is your stage, your opportunity to shine. Be bold in telling your story, be proud of your products and services.”
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