Go-Invest facilitates almost $23B in investments

For this year alone, the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) has facilitated almost $23 billion in investments. This was revealed by Finance Minister, Winston Jordan.

The economist said that over time, the investments would lead to the creation of over 970 jobs across various sectors, including services, agriculture and energy. In 2018, the Finance Minister said, GO-Invest anticipates investments of $154 billion. He said that this will create about 5,725 jobs. In addition, Jordan said that GO-Invest will be hosting the first ever Guyana Trade and Investment Exposition, aimed at promoting collaboration between private sector actors towards knowledge sharing and creating business partnerships. Jordan said that the Office anticipates up to 75 businesses participating in the Exposition, in April 2018. While the office prepares for such an important event, it has been ensuring that local companies receive adequate exposure at trade missions regionally and beyond. Its most recent trip in this regard was to Argentina.

The Guyana team included Sharon Sue-Hang-Baksh and Vasudeo Singh of Demerara Distillers Limited; Ruth Autar of Edward Beharry Company Limited; and Kibbyann Chester-Harding of GO-Invest.

Go-Invest noted that the ninth edition of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Flavours Exhibition was organized by the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), the Argentine Investment and Trade Promotion Agency (AAICI), the Ministry of Agribusiness of Argentina and the ExponenciAR Group (Clarín and La Nación), and 24 other export promotion agencies.

The event saw more than 120 buyers from around the world having business discussions with over 500 businesses. More than 3,000 one-on-one, 30-minute appointments were conducted during the two-day event which was held earlier this month.

During the opening ceremony, the Chief of the IDB’s Trade and Investment Division, Fabrizo Opertti, said that once again, LAC Flavors positioned the supply of value-added foods from Latin America and the Caribbean to the rest of the world, proving that it is crucial to innovate with certifications, quality brands and technology to export foods. Go-Invest stated that the event also afforded participants the opportunity to technical sessions which included presentations on “Understanding the buyers: What characteristics do they seek in a supplier” and “Creating secure logistics chain through the Authorized Economic Operator certification.”

LAC Flavors 2018 will be held in Chile according to an announcement made during the closing of the event. (Kaieteur News)