GMSA Head calls for more local companies to expand into int’l markets

With the world’s attention increasingly focused on Guyana, Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) President Rafeek Khan is urging local businesses to position themselves for the export market, citing benefits such as lower corporate taxes, increased foreign exchange earnings, and greater opportunities for growth.

Khan expressed these sentiments during a recent episode of the Energy Perspectives podcast, where he encouraged Guyanese firms to get “off the fence of indecisiveness”.

“This is not the time for us to do double-thinking. We had the previous five years of this current Administration for businesses to align their plans according to the manifesto set out,” he posited. “Focus on the opportunities; don’t focus on the limitations.”

According to Khan, “The world is coming to us. We have a great opportunity to showcase all of our businesses, all of our people to the world.”

“We’re sitting here and we’re meeting people from every part of this world; every continent has been coming,” he further highlighted, noting that GMSA officials meet business people from a new country at least once every week.

Export opportunities

While acknowledging that not every business has a product, service or brand ready for export, the GMSA Head said companies should begin positioning themselves to tap into international markets.

This can be done through land, air and sea, he explained.

“There are so many shipping lines that are coming into this country that can take your products internationally… Airlines are opening up every year, I’m seeing, and there’re going to be more that can ship your products to Miami, cargo bulk shipment via air and some Caribbean countries,” Khan noted.
He added that products can be transported by land to Brazil and Suriname and even further afield.

The GMSA President stressed that exporting offers significant benefits, chief among them the ability to earn foreign exchange – a major benefit in light of the challenges with foreign currency on the local market.

“We know it’s a challenge; the Government is trying their best, but if companies export internationally, you’re getting foreign currency in your business. If you’re 100 per cent reliant on domestic markets only, what do you think is going to happen? Granted not all companies have the opportunity or have a brand or a product ready for export, but if you do or if you don’t, start thinking soon. Because if a third of your revenues or even 10 per cent of your revenues are coming from exports, you don’t have to worry so much about where you’re gonna get your foreign currency from,” he explained.

Another benefit, Khan highlighted, is the potential to pay less or no corporate taxes.

“More export you do, less corporate taxes you’re paying. Sometimes no corporate taxes if your revenues exceed a certain amount for export,” he posited.

According to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), manufacturers that export more than 50 per cent of all their products qualify for exemption from the payment of customs duty and zero-rating of value-added tax.

Quality and standards

To prepare for the export market, the GMSA Head urged businesses to invest in quality assurance and compliance with international standards.

He said, “We have to up our game when it comes to quality and standards. We can complain all we want about our products not getting the right positioning in international stores, but if we do not embrace quality and standards, we are preparing for failure.”

Khan pointed to the “Made in Guyana” mark, a voluntary certification issued by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) which guarantees that locally manufactured products are authentic, high-quality, and meet strict national standards, helping businesses build consumer trust and compete regionally and internationally.

He also encouraged firms to get any recognisable certification in whatever industry they operate.
The GMSA Head also spoke about the importance of better packaging, noting that “so often we see companies with these boring-looking packages; at the same time, I am very delighted to see many businesses have upped their game and have very creative packaging.”

Available

Khan also underscored the importance of local businesses making themselves available to international markets, asserting that “companies aren’t going to come looking for you”.

Using his company, DuraVilla, as an example, the GMSA President highlighted that “my company is not in the oil and gas, but I participated in the Guyana Energy Conference. I position myself to target those people that are coming to Guyana to be able to sell my products, and many persons know the success story from that. Because I invested time and money in terms of positioning our company at the Energy Conference.”

Another way of improving access is being part of business support organisations like the GMSA, he noted.

“If you’re not part of these organisations, how are you going to get the information? It’s not going to show up at your front door or via email. You need to be able to be part of an organisation that will bring value to your business,” Khan outlined.

Next five years

Noting that there are about 350 businesses in the manufacturing and services sector through the GMSA, he expressed that “in five years, if we were to look at how many companies would have achieved export earnings, would have increased their exports, that’s a success”.

Khan also hopes to see more companies getting certified, noting that to date, some 50 companies within the GMSA have achieved the “Made in Guyana” mark.