Guyana Development Bank begins operations with zero-interest financing
Key Points(5)
- The Guyana Development Bank has officially begun operations, with the Irfaan Ali administration describing the institution as a major step toward expanding access to financing for entrepreneurs and small businesses across the country.
- The bank will provide up to GUY$3 million in zero-interest, zero-collateral financing, creating a new avenue for Guyanese seeking to establish or expand businesses.
- President Irfaan Ali said the bank is intended to address financial barriers that have long prevented aspiring entrepreneurs, including young innovators, single mothers, farmers and skilled tradespeople, 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.
The Guyana Development Bank has officially begun operations, with the Irfaan Ali administration describing the institution as a major step toward expanding access to financing for entrepreneurs and small businesses across the country.
The bank will provide up to GUY$3 million in zero-interest, zero-collateral financing, creating a new avenue for Guyanese seeking to establish or expand businesses.
President Irfaan Ali said the bank is intended to address financial barriers that have long prevented aspiring entrepreneurs, including young innovators, single mothers, farmers and skilled tradespeople, 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,” Ali said.
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 efficiency will be central to the bank’s operations, with the institution expected to process viable applications as quickly as possible while keeping the process simple and free of unnecessary bureaucracy.
Singh said the government's investment is intended not simply to inject capital, but to stimulate sustainable businesses and livelihoods across Guyana.
The funding will help entrepreneurs establish and expand small businesses while providing a pathway for them to build sustainable enterprises and eventually graduate into the traditional financial system, he said.
“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,” Singh said.
He said the Guyana Development Bank could also play a significant role in reshaping the country's private sector, noting 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 support to help entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses and become more competitive.
Singh said the government's support would be a partnership, but entrepreneurs would ultimately be responsible 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 said.
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.
She encouraged the private sector, business community and prospective entrepreneurs to prepare their business plans and proposals, noting that opportunities will extend across sectors including ecotourism, hospitality, village commerce and light manufacturing.
