As the National Assembly prepares for the presentation of Budget 2026, President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA), Rafeek Khan, says the focus must remain on building a resilient and productive economy capable of sustaining growth over the next five years.
Khan, during an interview with the News Room on Wednesday, said the Association reported strong momentum in 2025, recording approximately 20 percent growth in membership. This expansion reflects increased confidence among senior business leaders across manufacturing, services, agriculture, construction, and emerging sectors such as oil and gas. Looking ahead, engagements with the government have centered on long-term planning rather than short-term gains.
“What we were cautioned about is building a resilient economy. We don’t want to grow at a pace that we cannot sustain, having a resilient economy is very critical in our budgeting, in our planning.
“There are tariffs that impact Guyana, there’s shipping that impact Guyana [but] what are the things that we can control? Let us do best at it – infrastructure cost, energy cost, training of people, empowering businesses to get better,” Khan stated.
He said discussions with the Ministry of Finance and other private sector stakeholders highlighted the need to strengthen areas the country can directly impacts the businesses and their consumers. Access to financing remains a critical area of advocacy, with the GMSA welcoming ongoing discussions around development finance and alternative funding mechanisms. In 2025, the government announced its zero- interest development bank which will be established.
Khan said improved financing would enable businesses to invest responsibly while remaining aligned with the government’s broader economic vision.
“Access to capital continues to be a burden for businesses across the entire country. We hear the Government talking about solutions, we are anxiously looking forward to those solutions,” Khan said.
One of the Association’s key budget priorities is support for small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly through the expansion of shared industrial spaces and business incubators.
“I look at it like a business incubator, the GMSA will be including that in our building but the government has been doing it, we want to increase that even further to help small businesses grow,” Khan said.
Overall, the GMSA expressed optimism that the upcoming budget will reinforce collaboration between government and the private sector, ensuring that growth is inclusive, sustainable, and resilient in the years ahead.
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