'Tune Out the Doubters': GCCI President Tells Guyana's Founders Wealth Comes From Ownership

By Amara Osei

Guyana's entrepreneurs should stop letting other people's doubts decide what they do with their ideas. That was the core message from Kathy Smith, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), at a founder's engagement held during Small Business Week at the University of Guyana.

Smith told aspiring and established business owners to tune out doubters. She was direct about the social pressure founders face.

"I want the entrepreneurs in this room to unlearn what society has said to you about entrepreneurs," Smith said.

People who set out to build something are sometimes written off as scammers or branded charlatans, she said. When others see an entrepreneur move from managing basic finances to building a company and buying property, the reaction is often suspicion instead of support. Smith's advice was blunt: don't let that talk slow you down.

Why Smith says entrepreneurship is the surest route

The GCCI President backed her argument with her own track record. She started teaching at 17 and later moved into the private sector. Entrepreneurship, she said, was what got her closer to her dream of building wealth.

"If you want to acquire wealth, entrepreneurship is the surest way," Smith said.

She also pointed to a practical shift in the funding environment. When she started out, the options for small businesses were limited. Today, financial institutions are more willing to back good ideas. Smith said she was happy to see Guyana moving toward the level of business activity found in other Caribbean countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados.

What Small Business Week is actually offering

Small Business Week is being held at the University of Guyana and includes sessions for founders and entrepreneurs. The program has a concrete commercial backdrop: the oil and gas sector has provided a new opportunity for businesses to enter the market, providing services and driving broader business growth.

Part of Friday's discussion focused on hearing from businesses and developing ideas that can grow into successful ventures. University students were advised to start looking for problems their business can solve.

Students also heard that establishing a business doesn't require a massive product. It simply has to be marketable. From simple face masks to innovative new products, Smith said, every person with an idea has the potential to become a successful entrepreneur through a small venture.

Where the next opportunity hides

Samuel Reid, a Tech Consulting and Solution Advisor (Sales Engineer) at Brava Guyana, shared similar sentiments and offered students a working method for finding ideas.

"Think about the service that could be improved, the product that could be developed, the needs that are still unmet because somewhere in those challenges may be your next business opportunity," Reid said.

He also said that it doesn't have to start with a big office.

That message lands at a moment when Guyana's economy is expanding on the back of oil and gas, and when lenders — by Smith's account — are readier to finance small ventures than in her early career. For the students in the room, the takeaway from GCCI and Brava Guyana was that unmet needs, not grand offices or massive products, are the entry point.