New Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Dr Nicole Giles has underscored the importance of access to credit in Guyana and in the Caribbean, for Canada’s continued investment and development in the region. Dr Giles made this comment last Friday at the launch of Credit Info Guyana Inc at the Georgetown Club.
The Bank of Guyana on August 30 officially presented the Icelandic company with its licence to operate in the country, enabling Guyanese to get easier access to financing.
The granting of the licence followed a lengthy selection process that reviewed four other requests from international operators. The aim of the credit bureau is to enable more reliable, competitive and responsible lending, while protecting borrowers’ rights.
The newly-appointed Canadian high commissioner said access to credit was a key component to establishing a more receptive framework for entrepreneurship and private sector investments, which are essential elements for sustainable economic growth.
“Our development initiatives for the region, and by extension Guyana, have been strategically clustered around this overall goal of enhancing sustainable economic growth.
“We believe that a more integrated Caribbean region will be better positioned to compete in the global economy, contributing to the welfare, prosperity and security of its people,” she stated.
Milestone
Dr Giles disclosed that Canada is working along with the various governments in the Caribbean to enhance their countries’ operations in areas that will see the economies flourishing.
These areas include public finance management; strong leadership in the public service; a strong and more entrepreneurial private sector; a highly trained workforce, with skills that are needed by the Caribbean Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); strong rule of law, enforced by an efficient and effective judiciary; and disaster risk management.
In addition, she stated that the establishment of the credit bureau has proved to be a significant milestone for the development of Guyana’s financial sector, which will see businesses benefiting immensely.
