The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), with the re-elected leadership of President Kester Hutson, has pledged to escalate its support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the upcoming year.
Hutson first took up the post in 2023 for a one-year term.
Following his re-election, the businessman told OilNOW: “We’re going to dive deeper into support for SMEs, starting with an incubator that allows for development of SMEs. Holistically, we will have our business development forum which will seek to educate business leaders while collaborating with stakeholders…”
The Business Development Forum was first launched in 2018 to improve all aspects of business operations and development across oil and non-oil sectors. Hutson said the forum will allow for full end-to-end capturing of all processes, from regulations to owning and managing a business.
Hutson, like his predecessor Timothy Tucker, is involved in continuous advocacy for sustained local content gains. Following the implementation of local content legislation, the Georgetown Chamber advocated for the government to close loopholes that allow fronting.
The Chamber plans to continue to support the Local Content Secretariat in this regard, Hutson explained. He said it will also advocate for increased access to capital for Guyanese businesses.
GCCI held its 134th Annual General Meeting (AGM) virtually on March 27, 2024. During the event, GCCI’s 2023/2024 Council was dissolved, and elections for the Chamber’s 21-member Council were held and the following members were elected as the new Council of the Chamber for the year 2024/2025:
1. Timothy Tucker – Rid-O-Pes
2. Richard Rambarran – NCB Capital Markets Guyana Inc.
3. Kester Hutson – Dapper Technology Inc.
4. Komal Ramnauth – Kojac
5. Rosh Khan – Social Rank Media
6. Keon Howard – Electric (Guyana) Inc.
7. Kathy Smith – Dover Waterproofing Technologies Inc.
8. Geraldo Alphonso – Innovations America
9. Evie Kanhai-Gurchuran – Envisage Marketing & Technology Company
10. Kristia Ramlagan – Lodestar Inc.
11. Rayad Boyce – Sonic Business Services
12. Gavin Ramsoondar – Zarc Properties Inc.
13. Delmar Walcott – Icon LNG Guyana Inc.
14. Mary Nagasar – Hand-in-Hand Group of Companies
15. Carlos Mendonca – Ricks and Sari Agro Industries Ltd.
16. Brian Edwards – Green Agro Services & Supplies Inc.
17. Devon Seeram – Payless Variety Store
18. Melisa McRae-George – Guyana Payroll Solutions
19. Navin Prashad – M.P. Insurance Brokers & Consultants Limited
20. Paul Archer – Loss Control & Risk Management Guyana
21. Priyanka Sookraj – Ascension Business Services
Subsequent to the AGM, the new Council held its first Statutory Council meeting on April 3, 2024, to elect from its body a new Executive Management Committee (EMC) for the year 2024/2025.
The complete Executive Management Committee is as follows:
– President: Kester Hutson – Dapper Technology Inc.
– Senior Vice President: Kathy Smith – Dover Waterproofing Technologies Inc.
– Junior Vice President: Gavin Ramsoondar – Zarc Properties Inc.
– Secretary: Melisa McRae-George – Guyana Payroll Solutions
– Treasurer: Brian Edwards – Green Agro Services & Supplies Inc.
– Ex-Officio Member: Timothy Tucker – Rid-O-Pes
– Ex-Officio Member: Richard Rambarran – NCB Capital Markets Guyana Inc.
