Ashni Singh’s Charge

Jun 02, 2026 Editorial, News

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Editorial…

(Kaieteur News) – Finance Minister Ashni Singh’s recent exhortation to Guyanese businesses to look beyond our shores and seize opportunities in regional and international markets may sound visionary. It appeals to ambition. It speaks to competitiveness. It projects confidence in the capacity of local entrepreneurs to stand shoulder to shoulder with firms from larger economies. There is nothing inherently wrong with encouraging Guyanese businesses to expand their horizons.

But there is a troubling contradiction at the heart of this message.

How does one urge local businesses to seek fortunes abroad when many are still struggling to secure meaningful opportunities in their own country? How does one preach regional conquest while domestic ground remains uneven? Before government encourages Guyanese entrepreneurs to plant flags in foreign markets, it must confront the growing perception that local businesses are being sidelined in the very economic transformation taking place at home.

Guyanese have been told that the country is experiencing unprecedented growth. The oil and gas sector has attracted billions of dollars in investment. New infrastructure projects are underway. Hotels are rising. Roads are being expanded. New industries are being promoted. The narrative is one of prosperity and opportunity.

Yet many local businesses continue to voice concerns about their place in this boom.

Across multiple sectors, foreign companies have emerged as dominant players. They possess greater access to capital, larger workforces, more advanced technology and extensive international networks. These advantages often place local firms at a competitive disadvantage from the outset. The result is that many of the largest contracts and most lucrative opportunities frequently end up in foreign hands.

This reality has fuelled frustration within sections of the local private sector. Business owners have repeatedly complained about barriers to entry, difficulties accessing financing, procurement systems that appear to favour larger external firms and competition that is anything but equal. Whether every complaint is justified is beside the point. The persistence of these concerns suggests that the issue cannot simply be dismissed.

Government officials often point to local content policies as evidence of their commitment to Guyanese participation. Those measures have undoubtedly created opportunities for some businesses and have helped increase local involvement in key sectors. But the question remains whether these initiatives are sufficient to build a broad and resilient domestic business class capable of competing on equal terms.

The challenge is not merely one of participation, it is one of ownership and empowerment.

A country can experience tremendous economic growth while its local business community remains largely confined to the margins of that growth. Foreign investment is important. It brings capital, expertise and jobs. No serious observer would argue otherwise. But foreign investment should complement local enterprise, not overshadow it.

The concern is that Guyana may be drifting toward a model where international firms dominate the commanding heights of the economy while local businesses are encouraged to settle for secondary roles. If that perception takes hold, calls for overseas expansion may ring hollow.

The irony is that successful regional and international companies are usually built on strong domestic foundations. Businesses first establish themselves at home. They develop expertise. They accumulate capital. They strengthen management systems. They build brands. Only then do they venture into foreign markets.

This has been the pattern throughout the Caribbean and beyond. The strongest regional enterprises did not emerge because governments told them to look abroad. They emerged because they achieved success in their domestic markets and used that success as a platform for expansion.

Why should Guyana be any different?

If government genuinely wants Guyanese businesses to become regional champions, then it must first ensure that they have a fair opportunity to become national champions. It must examine whether procurement practices adequately support local participation. It must address financing constraints. It must ensure that local content policies are not merely symbolic but transformative. It must create conditions where Guyanese businesses can grow, scale and compete effectively.

Encouraging businesses to expand beyond Guyana is not a bad objective. In fact, it is a necessary one. The domestic market is small and long-term sustainability will require regional and international engagement. But such expansion should be the next step in a logical progression, not a substitute for unresolved domestic shortcomings.

The government cannot simultaneously celebrate the influx of foreign companies and then tell local businesses that their future lies elsewhere. That message risks being interpreted as an admission that the most attractive opportunities at home are already spoken for.

Guyanese entrepreneurs do not lack ambition. They do not lack vision. What many seek is a level playing field in the country whose growth they have helped sustain through difficult decades.

Before urging them to conquer regional markets, government should ensure that they are not strangers to opportunity in their own land.

The first frontier for Guyanese business should be Guyana itself. Only when that frontier is fully open and genuinely accessible will calls for overseas expansion carry the credibility they deserve.

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• Ashni Singh, economies, Editorial, Guyanese businesses

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