Friday, July 01, 2005
Guyana: An Enterprise Development Sector Diagnostic Towards a Strategy for MSME Development
By: The Enterprise Research Institute
For: The Inter-American Development Bank, 1997
Guyana's return to free market policies after more than two decades of state domination of the economy has produced an annual growth rate of seven percent over the past seven years, the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean. But Guyana is now entering a delicate adjustment phase. High growth rates are projected to level off in the near future and unemployment will increase as public sector jobs disappear and EU preferences on sugar and rice are eliminated. If reform is to be sustainable, the private sector, and small businesses in particular, will need to expand at a faster rate than in the recent past. Furthermore, current high levels of migration must not only be arrested but remigration must occur if Guyana is to quickly add to the human capital that will be necessary to support continued growth. Guyana is a predominately agricultural economy that is slowly moving away from central planning and domination by state-owned enterprises. The micro, small, and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) primarily operate in the retail sector of the economy, although services and agriculture are also well represented. Set apart from other MSMEs in the region by their comparative longevity and income levels, they have the potential to become an engine of growth for Guyana once certain constraints are removed.
This paper provides an overview of the Guyanan economy, examines the types of MSMEs that exist in the country and the most important constraints faced by the MSME sector. The paper focuses, in particular, on the policy issues that must be addressed to encourage and stimulate the MSME sector in Guyana. It also makes suggestions for further research to broaden the knowledge on other issues such as financial markets and land titling.
For: The Inter-American Development Bank, 1997
Guyana's return to free market policies after more than two decades of state domination of the economy has produced an annual growth rate of seven percent over the past seven years, the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean. But Guyana is now entering a delicate adjustment phase. High growth rates are projected to level off in the near future and unemployment will increase as public sector jobs disappear and EU preferences on sugar and rice are eliminated. If reform is to be sustainable, the private sector, and small businesses in particular, will need to expand at a faster rate than in the recent past. Furthermore, current high levels of migration must not only be arrested but remigration must occur if Guyana is to quickly add to the human capital that will be necessary to support continued growth. Guyana is a predominately agricultural economy that is slowly moving away from central planning and domination by state-owned enterprises. The micro, small, and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) primarily operate in the retail sector of the economy, although services and agriculture are also well represented. Set apart from other MSMEs in the region by their comparative longevity and income levels, they have the potential to become an engine of growth for Guyana once certain constraints are removed.
This paper provides an overview of the Guyanan economy, examines the types of MSMEs that exist in the country and the most important constraints faced by the MSME sector. The paper focuses, in particular, on the policy issues that must be addressed to encourage and stimulate the MSME sector in Guyana. It also makes suggestions for further research to broaden the knowledge on other issues such as financial markets and land titling.