Small Businesses continue to face a difficult time in their quest to access finance from commercial banks. Handell Duncan reports,
The Chief Executive of the Small Business Bureau, Dr.Lowell Porter is reminding that the Small Business Bureau does not lend money. He stressed that all loans are facilitated through commercial banks. There are only two commercial banks in Guyana that the agency works directly with. Those banks are Republic Bank and GBTI.
While the Bureau does this, the rejection rate by the banks is considered to be very high. 50 percent of those who interface
Generally, there is an unwillingness by commercial banks to with the small businesses. However, under the current construct, the banks have the final say.
Meanwhile, under the Government’s Procurement Programme whereby 20% of all Government contracts will go to small businesses, all businesses will now have to be registered with Small Business Bureau, to benefit. This way, the Government is hopeful that it can measure access to that 20% of contracts and track corruption attempts.
