The Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) has won an award for excellence in Public Service from the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) for effectively facilitating the work of the business community by providing the highest standard of service.
GCCI President Deodat Indar presented the award to GO-Invest’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Owen Verwey at a small ceremony at the Chamber’s boardroom on January 7, 2019, in the presence of the Agency’s Deputy CEO, Ms. Natalia Seepersaud and other invited guests.
Giving reasons why the GCCI decided to award the Agency, Indar said, “Under the young leadership of the GO-Invest, headed by Mr. Verwey and … Ms. Seepersaud, we find that Go-Invest has been more outward looking. They are present at all of the incoming trade missions, they are always there [serving the business community].”
Indar said GCCI appreciates GO-Invest’s informative presentations on Guyana’s trade agreements with various countries, and the Agency’s precise explanations of the benefits of such agreements. He noted that the two entities had worked well together to facilitate mutually beneficial partnerships between international and local businesses.
The GCCI head commended GO-Invest for organising many key trade missions to Guyana enabling the local business community to form lucrative connections with international counterparts. He highlighted recent trade missions from Canada and Trinidad and Tobago as fruitful engagements that allowed Guyanese businesses to partner with foreign companies and boost local commerce.
GO-Invest’s CEO accepted the award and pledged that he and his team will continue to work hard to raise the Agency’s profile and reach higher levels of capacity and reliability. He indicated that GCCI’s recognition of the Agency’s strong core values and business-promotion culture will encourage investors to feel comfortable going to GO-Invest for guidance.
Verwey pointed out that, while much of the focus on business in Guyana has been on the emerging oil and gas sector, GO-Invest continues to play a major role in attracting investment in other areas, particularly agriculture, pointing to two successful agricultural trade missions from Brazil last year.
He said GO-Invest intends to build on these successes, and the Agency’s hope is that the benefits from large-scale ventures would filter down meaningfully to smaller local producers in the agro-processing sector, as well as other areas of business that make up the supply chain in the agro-producing industry.
The CEO added that GO-Invest will continue to do outreaches to the members of the local business community, in and outside Georgetown, and has reached out to nearly all the Administrative Regions in Guyana via agricultural and commercial expos, and at other events like the Lethem Town Week.
Expressing appreciation for the award, Verwey said, “We are grateful for the relationships we have with our customers and the trust they place in us. They have a lot of options these days, so it is not something we take for granted. The Agency will continue its hard work this year.”
