More than 720 new small businesses registered in 2024 in just three regions  

More than 720 new small businesses were started up in Regions Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni), Eight (Potaro/Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo) in 2024.

Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Oneidge Waldron disclosed this on Wednesday when she held an end-of-year press conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, at Liliendaal, Georgetown.

The press conference was called to provide an update on the work of the ministry over the year so far.

Waldron said this number of new businesses is quite a staggering figure and that she was happy that the work of the ministry has been impacting so many lives positively.

“These are small businesses which are trying to get regularised,” she told the News Room following the meeting.

“For instance, if they need to get assistance from the Small Business Bureau, they have to be a registered business. So they need a business registration and that is usually done through the registry here in Georgetown. So what we’ve done is to create hubs with support from the business registry to get those businesses registered,” she added.

The businesses, many of which are village shops, are largely out of Region Nine, Minister Waldron noted.

The small businesses also include those in agro-processing and the services sector, like barber shops, salons, and food stalls.