Hours after the Guyana Development Bank (GDB) was officially launched, its newly appointed Board of Directors sat down with a ministerial team to chart the way forward.
In a release from the Ministry of Finance, it was noted that the Board engaged Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh; Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Susan Rodrigues; and Minister of Public Service, Government Efficiency and Implementation, Zulfikar Ally.
The Board of Directors includes Chairman Abu Zaman, Deputy Chairperson Kathy Smith, and directors James Bond, Sukrishnall Pasha, Dion Inniss, Nalinie Singh, and Praem Rambharak.
Dr. Singh told the Board that the GDB is one of the government’s flagship commitments and has the potential to “unleash a wave of entrepreneurship unlike anything ever seen in this country’s history.” He said the bank could allow thousands of businesses to access capital to start up or grow — something previously out of reach for many because of collateral and interest requirements.
“Because every single small business owner who is going to access a loan facility through the GDB, we would like to see every one of them invest the resources in a viable business idea and grow their business as well as manage their business responsibly so that their business grows not only to utilise the $3 million loan facility being provided by the GDB but so that they could graduate upwards into accessing loans from the formal financial system — the traditional commercial banks — and grow their business even more,” Dr. Singh said.
He noted that the initial capital injection of $20 billion is not an end in itself, but a means to spur a broader wave of entrepreneurial and productive activity across the country — particularly in the non-oil sector, which grew by 10.1% in the first half of 2026.
Minister Rodrigues, under whose portfolio the bank falls, congratulated the new board members and urged the bank to be innovative in considering applicants with proposals outside the norm.
“We may see new scenarios and people coming up with new proposals that they won’t ordinarily take to a commercial bank but there is great value in that idea,” she said.
Minister Ally highlighted the bank’s active website as part of the government’s broader digitisation push, noting that applications and proposals can be submitted online at gdb.gov.gy.
The GDB’s launch on Monday marks the culmination of a legislative process that began with its inclusion in the PPP/C’s 2025 Manifesto. The GDB Bill was passed in the National Assembly on July 27, assented to by President Ali on July 30, and the Commencement Order — designating October 5, 2026 as the day the Act comes into operation — was signed by Minister Singh on September 16.
