Telecommunications giant, Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company (GTT) on Saturday launched an innovative suite of services to champion small and medium-sized businesses in Guyana by catering to their technological needs.
The new product – conneX – offers improved internet and landline services for small and medium-sized businesses that ensure affordability and reliability as well as efficiency. The new conneX 75, conneX 150, and conneX 600 plans will see new and existing businesses receiving high-speed internet service with complimentary voice solutions of 3500, 4000 and 6000 free minutes for local on-net calls and international calls to the US and Canada.
The company’s Business Solutions division has been positioning itself to champion the promotion of small businesses in Guyana through innovative solutions.
According to Chief Operations Officer of GTT Business Solutions, Orson Ferguson, this new product will make communication faster and deliver more value for small businesses so that they can grasp opportunities.
“ConneX combines faster and more reliable fibre broadband plus voice calling, all on one bill. This solution, we believe, will meet the needs of small businesses. It will make them more competitive and put them in a position to take advantage of the opportunities of this new economy,” he noted.
Ferguson added that this is just the beginning since GTT will be rolling out several other add-ons to further simplify the lives of small business owners and deliver even greater value.
The COO posited that GTT is aiming to be the first choice for small businesses. Already, the company has dedicated officers working and meeting with hundreds of small businesses across the country to make the right technology decisions.
Meanwhile, Industry and Commerce Minister, Oneidge Walrond speaking at the launch, lauded initiatives like this that are being undertaken by major Private Sector players to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This, she noted, will complement the Government’s efforts toward developing and enabling the climate for SMEs to grow to regional and global competitors.
“Government support is a necessary condition but is a sufficient condition. Other support is critical. Without the support of larger companies, the SMEs cannot survive… I personally would like to see more sustained and structured programmes by the Private Sector to support small businesses,” Walrond stated.
Outlining some of the interventions her Government has made to support the small business sector, the Industry and Commerce Minister reassured that this will continue going forward.
GTT’s launch of its new service coincides with the National Small Business Week 2022, which kicked off on Saturday with an exhibition featuring over 40 small businesses.
The event is sponsored by GTT Business Solution in collaboration with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
President of GCCI, Timothy Tucker underscored the importance of supporting micro, small and medium businesses. He noted that one of the Chamber’s responsibilities is supporting, promoting and helping small businesses to grow.
However, Tucker pointed out that small businesses need much more, including space.
“We must, as a country, facilitate [and] as a business community, encourage, help, improve standards but we also have to be able to give them the space in which they can occupy to grow their businesses,” he stated.
According to the Chamber President, GCCI already has a plan to build businesses.
“We’ve also been working on a number of other programmes such as this [to] really grow and help small and micro-businesses. So as much as we might not be out there every day, I can assure you that GCCI is here [and] is determined to make a better life and make it better for small and micro-businesses – all businesses [to grow],” he stated.
Meanwhile, further echoing sentiments expressed by Minister Walrond as well as representative from the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA), Chief Executive Officer of GTT Damian Blackburn pledged not only the telecommunication company’s continued support towards the development of small businesses in Guyana but also financial assistance.
“In terms of the financing challenge… we have ideas around that. We obviously have MMG as a starting point… I think that some amazing things could be done around financing small business. I pledge to give my personal time and the organisation’s time and effort to see if we can work something out there because I do think it is the most fundamental thing that small businesses need,” Blackburn asserted.
The GTT boss further stated that the conneX product will be revolutionary in transforming businesses.
Saturday’s launch, which was held prior to the opening of the Small Business Expo at Parc Rayne, saw GTT announcing three months of free connections of its conneX service as well as a one-month free membership to GCCI for the exhibitors.
Additionally, the installation will be free over the next two months for businesses that sign up for the conneX service, which offers packages as low as $18,999 for both internet and landline services.
The conneX solution is accessible in areas where GTT has established its Fibre service.
