At a time when some in the Opposition are focused on berating the government for what they see as their constituency being excluded from participating in the booming economy, ironically in the news was our Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh signing an agreement with the World Bank Group’s (WBG) International Finance Corporation (IFC). The latter is the private-sector arm of the WBG and focuses on economic development through private enterprise in emerging markets as the largest global development institution for the private sector. It was represented by its VP for Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean (LAC), Alfonso García Mora. Immediately afterwards, it announced that the “WBG Establishment Agreement- (is) a key milestone to scale private sector development, support job creation and deepen impact in the country.”
What the meeting confirms is a shift in the nature of our development financing: Guyana is moving from reliance on public financing and oil revenues toward private-sector–driven growth, with support mechanisms like guarantees, financing tools, and partnerships. Last month, the Minister had reiterated in a podcast in which World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean, Lilia Burunciuc, had participated, “We will always fight for the largest possible access to concessional resources, but as we navigate this period of change in the Guyanese economy, other members of the World Bank Group have tools, instruments and products that will take on new relevance, including, in particular, the World Bank’s private sector operations…”
All representatives of the government from the President onwards have been highlighting ad nauseum, specific areas of the economy in which opportunities abound and which now have funding waiting to be seized. These are not only with private banks, but with the new $200M funded Development Bank, for which there have even been training sessions for youths and women to be educated for specific small and medium businesses, for example in agriculture.
As we reported yesterday, in addition to the WBG meeting, Dr Singh also attended an AgriConnect Partners Meeting that convened public and private stakeholders to evaluate the initiative’s progress since its launch in October 2025. The session also focused on overcoming emerging challenges and identifying strategic opportunities to meet the goal of supporting more smallholder farmers by 2030. In his presentation, Singh outlined that Guyana holds the lead responsibility for agriculture and food security within the Caribbean region and underscored that agriculture remains a primary contributor to Guyana’s non-oil GDP, supported by abundant arable land and freshwater resources. He further noted the strong alignment between Guyana’s Government’s policy objectives and the AgriConnect initiative, particularly in areas of access to technical assistance and extension services for small farmers and the deployment of science and technology in the agricultural sector, and reaffirmed that Guyana looks forward to actively participating in this initiative to drive sustainable growth and food security.
To show that the government was putting its money where its mouth is, in the same edition of the newspaper there was an article on the commissioning of a $58.5 million agro-processing facility at Canal #1, WBD – the 15th now established in the country. As the Minister explained, the seasonal nature of crops, combined with their perishability and fluctuating market demands, raise the risks of farmers since it often prevents them from maximising returns on their labour and investment. The agro-processing facilities with modern solar drying and agro-processing technology, in the words of the minister, “will convert perishable produce into shelf-stable, value-added products such as dried pineapple, citrus slices, pulps, juices, herbs, seasonings, and condiments. This will reduce post-harvest losses by as much as 35-40%, while opening new income streams for 70 to 90 small-scale farmers and processors, including women’s groups and youth-run agro-enterprises who will directly benefit,”
This concrete initiative underscores the Government’s continued commitment to transforming Guyana’s agro-processing sector and has been replicated in every other sector such as tourism, supporting the oil industry, energy generation in solar farms, medical tourism, financial services, ICT and digital services, education and training, tech startups, business support services etc.
The opposition should encourage their remaining supporters to “get with the programs”.
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