Local companies ready to meet regional demand, says PSC chairman

The Private Sector Commission (PSC) is positioning local businesses to meet growing regional demand through a series of newly formed consortiums, its chairman Gerry Gouveia Jr said.

Speaking in an interview, Gouveia said calls by regional leaders, including Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, for stronger private-sector collaboration align with the direction Guyanese companies are already taking across the Caribbean.

“Most private-sector companies are already looking at markets such as Suriname for exporting their services,” Gouveia said. “We are also engaging with Brazil to move manufacturing products north into CARICOM. Beyond being a production economy, Guyana is positioning itself as a transshipment hub.”

He said consortiums are expanding trade links through Barbados and Grenada, helping Guyanese firms establish a broader regional presence.

According to Gouveia, these efforts are producing tangible results for businesses operating across borders, supported by multiple trade missions aimed at expanding reach and building strategic partnerships.

“In the last two to three months, we have formed about 10 consortiums, ranging from the Rupununi to Berbice and Georgetown, across multiple sectors,” he said.

Gouveia said interest is also coming from outside the region, particularly from members of the Guyanese diaspora. Companies based in the United Kingdom have already sent delegations to Guyana to explore partnerships, he added.

Key areas of interest include asset management, vessel and dock management, agriculture and technology, sectors that align with the government’s push to diversify the economy beyond oil.

Gouveia pointed to the private sector’s rapid mobilisation during hurricane relief efforts in Jamaica as evidence of its growing regional capacity.

“It demonstrated that we have the logistics, coordination and scale to operate across the region,” he said.