GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — The Guyana Development Bank has officially begun operations, with the Irfaan Ali administration describing the institution as a major step towards expanding access to financing for entrepreneurs and small businesses across the country.

The bank will provide up to $3 million (One Guyana dollar=US$0.008 cents) in zero-interest, zero-collateral financing, creating a new avenue for nationals seeking to establish or expand businesses.

President Ali said the bank is intended to address the financial barriers that have long prevented aspiring entrepreneurs, including young innovators, single mothers, farmers and skilled tradesmen, from accessing the resources needed to start or grow their enterprises.

“This is not a grant; this is your opportunity to earn, your opportunity to build your credit and your pathway to participate in our national expansion. The Guyana Development Bank is about much more than providing loans. It is being designed as a complete support ecosystem that helps businesses start, grow and succeed,” he noted.

In the 2026 national budget, the Government allocated an initial GUY$20 billion capital injection, representing the first tranche of the bank’s GUY$40 billion authorised share capital.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, said the bank’s launch is expected to unlock a new wave of entrepreneurial activity.

“As set out in our manifesto commitment to financial inclusion, this institution is about helping our citizens participate in the formal financial system. SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) play a critical role in creating and enhancing economic livelihoods, and supporting community-based economic development,” Singh said.

He said that efficiency will be central to the bank’s operations, with the institution expected to process viable applications in the shortest possible time while keeping the process simple and free of unnecessary bureaucracy.

Singh said the allocation is not simply an injection of capital, but is intended to stimulate sustainable businesses and livelihoods across the country. He said the funding available through the bank is intended to help establish and expand small businesses, while creating a pathway for entrepreneurs to build sustainable enterprises and eventually graduate into the traditional financial system.

“This initiative is intended to achieve a completely new wave of entrepreneurial and productive activity in Guyana. And this initiative is intended to stimulate sustained livelihoods, sustainable and sustained business ventures across the length and breadth of our country.”

The finance minister said that the Guyana Development Bank could also play a significant role in reshaping Guyana’s private sector, pointing to the fact that many established companies began as small enterprises.

“The overwhelming majority of medium and large businesses that we see across Guyana and indeed across the world started as a small business. Every small idea has the potential to grow and become a big idea. And so this has the potential to completely transform the private sector landscape,” he said.

Beyond financing, the bank will provide mentorship, training, coaching and capacity building to help entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses and become more competitive with Singh indicating that the Government’s support is intended to be a partnership, but ultimately, entrepreneurs must take responsibility for managing their businesses effectively.

“I want to say to them, you have a partner in this Government. We’re going to provide you with all of the support that we can,” he noted.

Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Susan Rodrigues said the bank creates a new pathway for entrepreneurs who have traditionally encountered barriers within the commercial banking system.

“Whether investing in ecotourism, hospitality, village commerce, or light manufacturing, the door to financial empowerment is wide open,” Rodrigues said, encouraging the private sector commerce, the wider business community and prospective entrepreneurs to have their business plans and proposals ready, with opportunities extending to ecotourism, hospitality, village commerce and light manufacturing.