The landscape of business opportunities in Guyana has been boosted with the introduction of the Centre Hub, an enhanced and upgraded digital platform introduced by the Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD) on September 7. It is set to amplify access and usability for its 6,000+ registrants – more than 4,000 of which are local.
This comes as a major move under the aegis of the Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI), the US$100 million project funding the Centre, backed by ExxonMobil, Hess, and CNOOC from the Stabroek Block consortium.
At the launch event, Dr. Natasha Gaskin-Peters, Director of CLBD, made it clear that the Centre Hub is the natural progression from the six-year-old Supplier Registration Portal. “The Hub will bring new, innovative benefits for Guyanese companies,” said Gaskin-Peters. She shed light on the portal’s significance since 2013, as Guyana’s first electronic business hub. It was a gateway for companies to tap into growing business prospects, not just in the oil and gas sector, but in sectors like mining and agriculture.
A notable upgrade with the Centre Hub is the new business-to-business feature. This novel element provides an arena for businesses to connect, laying the foundation for local-international partnerships, which Gaskin-Peters termed as “smart partnering”. Reflecting on feedback from businesses, she emphasized that the Hub would streamline the registration process, eliminating the tediousness of phone calls and delays.
Gianluigi Della Rosa from Saipem Guyana Inc. lauded the efforts of the Centre and highlighted the increasing inclusivity of the Guyanese business environment. “This entity is extremely important for the development of this country,” he emphasized, recounting that Saipem was able to engage 150 companies in just one session at last year’s supplier forum, in which The Centre played a critical role.
Supply Chain and Business Development Manager of Guyana Logistics and Support Services (GLASS), Niraj Kumar, spoke highly of the capacity-building offerings of the Centre. “There are people who might be working in procurement department, legalistic department and different industries, but how they have to bring themselves up to speed and be able to work in the oil and gas sector, I think that gap is wonderfully bridged by the CLBD, by its training courses.”
Kumar said the kind of work the Centre is doing is definitely a need for Guyana’s emerging economy.
Cecil Maxwell, the Senior Associate, who oversees the Centre Hub from the backend, provided insights into its operation. He asserted, “This Centre Hub that we have is not just the Centre’s Hub. It’s your Hub too.” According to Maxwell, the Hub currently boasts registrations from over 6,000 companies, of which approximately 1,800 are foreign businesses. With a collaborative approach, the Centre has been working hand in hand with the Local Content Secretariat. This ensures that local businesses that are certified with the Secretariat have their credentials displayed transparently on the portal.
The Centre Hub’s genesis is in the Supplier Registration Portal, introduced in 2017 by The Centre as Guyana’s premier electronic business directory. This pivot to the Centre Hub is not merely an upgrade but a recalibration of objectives to serve the rapidly evolving economic landscape of Guyana. With state-of-the-art features and an expansive vision, the Centre Hub is poised to usher in a new era of business collaborations, both local and international.
Dr. Gaskin-Peters stated, “Today, we stand proud to be unveiling the Centre Hub, Guyana’s largest online business directory which will continue to support the development of local content and local suppliers in the country.”
Businesses can acquaint themselves with the Centre Hub and its offerings by visiting their official website at centrehub.com or centreguyana.com/centrehub.
