Georgetown Chamber 2016/17 annual report records 38% growth in membership

At a time when the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) is seeking to expand its services to members, the organization is experiencing, “significant growth in membership,” immediate past president of the business support organization Vishnu Doerga has said.. In a message published in the Chamber’s 2016/2017 Annual Report, Doerga said that over the reporting period 38 new members enlisted with the organization “signalling a 25% increase in its membership.” Listed among the additions to the Chamber’s membership are Muneshwer’s Limited, Cevon’s Waste Management, Professional Guard Services, Kross Kolour Records, Comfort Sleep and The Language Institute. Company membership of the Chamber now stands at 173 entities, with merchandising 18 members, distribution 16 members, manufacturing 15 members, Information Technology 14 members, education 10 members and financial services 10 members, being the leading membership categories. The increase in membership, Doerga says, is a microcosm of a wider improvement in the fortunes of the Chamber which includes both an enhanced financial position as well as an increased capacity to deliver services to its members. “Our Chamber has significantly improved its position from just a few years when we were in significant deficit, membership was stagnant and value to members was limited. He said that the return of the Chamber to a position of “financial soundness” was due to the effectiveness of the Chamber team in “adding value to themselves and adding value to the organization.” The Chamber, Doerga says, has now experienced a positive change regarding its surplus which now stands at $5.7 million, “An impressive increase of 363 per cent.” And according to Doerga, growth in the size of the Chamber coupled with mounting member expectations helped to focus the attention of the organization on various initiatives including capacity building programmes for members. Details contained in other sections of the report provide details of the Chamber’s interface with external support entities including the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the European Union, the Caribbean Technological Consultancy Services (CTCS) a mechanism