GuyExpo 2026 Launches With Financing Pledge for Small Business

Guyana's premier trade and investment exposition will run November 12–15, 2026, at the National Exhibition Centre in Sophia, Georgetown, under the theme "Creating Tomorrow's Opportunities Through Today's Investments."

The official launch ceremony took place Thursday afternoon at the venue. Organizers expect businesses from across Guyana to fill the exhibition centre, displaying products and services and connecting with potential customers and partners.

GuyExpo began as a local exhibition in 1995. Three decades on, it has become a major platform for local businesses to showcase their offerings, build partnerships, and explore new opportunities. The 2026 edition marks the event's 31st chapter.

Delivering the feature address, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Susan Rodrigues framed the theme around the government's economic agenda. The opportunities government wants to create for people in the future, she said, depend on the investments made today in businesses, people, skills, technology, infrastructure, and ideas.

Investment, Rodrigues argued, is not only about large-scale capital. She pointed equally to the small business owner purchasing new equipment, the entrepreneur investing in training, and the young person developing new skills.

Business-to-Business Focus

Reflecting on GuyExpo 2025, Rodrigues said the event is, for many young Guyanese who have attended annually for the last 30 years, a celebration of Guyanese culture, innovation and national pride. With continued support from the Government of Guyana, she said, the expo will remain a platform for local entrepreneurs — small, micro and large businesses alike.

The event's commercial function is central. "Last year, we placed greater emphasis on business-to-business engagement and that remains an important part of this experience. We want businesses to use this platform to meet potential customers, partners, investors and suppliers and to explore opportunities that can take them into new markets," Rodrigues said.

Development Bank Coming

The most concrete commitment in her address concerned access to finance. Rodrigues pointed to the much-anticipated Guyana Development Bank, which will be launched soon.

"Access to finance remains an important part of that equation particularly for our micro, small and medium-sized businesses. That is why the Guyana Development Bank is such an important addition to our business landscape. It is intended to provide greater access to financing for entrepreneurs, including financing of up to three million dollars along with technical assistance and business development support. This gives businesses another avenue to invest in equipment, expand operations, develop new products and take their businesses to the next level," the minister said.

Beyond financing, Rodrigues committed the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce to strengthening the environment in which businesses operate. Through its agencies and programmes, the ministry supports entrepreneurs with training, business development, standards, market access and other forms of assistance.

The stated objective: more Guyanese businesses growing, employing more people, producing more locally, and competing in regional and international markets.

A Different Economy

Rodrigues drew a sharp contrast between today's Guyana and the country of 1995, when GuyExpo first launched. "The Guyana of today is very different from the Guyana of 1995 when GuyExpo was first launched. Our economy has expanded, new industries are emerging, connectivity is increasing and technology is creating new ways for businesses to operate and reach customers. Guyanese businesses must be ready to respond to these changes and to take advantage of the opportunities that are emerging," she stressed.

Registration for exhibitors and sponsors is now open through the GuyExpo website at https://guyexpo.gy/. Further updates will be posted on the ministry's Facebook page as GuyExpo 2026 takes shape.

For Guyanese businesses, the November event offers a rare concentration of customers, investors and suppliers in one venue — and, with the Guyana Development Bank on the horizon, a new financing channel to fund what they pitch there.