On November 18, 2022, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) met with Delegates from the Africa Caribbean Business Council Private Sector comprised of representatives from the Africa Import Bank and other African Private Sector investors with the aim of promoting African-Caribbean Trade.

President of the GCCI, Mr. Timothy Tucker, welcomed the delegation and highlighted the Chambers’ task of taking Guyana’s products cross-country, receiving/welcoming incoming delegations and supporting them in terms of partnerships and navigating Guyana.

Mr. Rene Awambeng, Director and Global Head of Client Relations, at Afreximbank, introduced the bank as a multilateral government financial institution established by a treaty providing trade-enabling infrastructure. The bank performs a full range of duties including bank advisory, strategy and international cooperation, finance, credit services and trade financing. He shared that the bank’s interest is not to compete with local banks but to simply facilitate industrialization and export development in Guyana

He mentioned the existence of investors in Africa interested in the mining, oil and gas, and construction sectors and the need for the Chamber’s help in identifying key institutions for joint ventures. He further expressed interest in understanding the Chamber and how foreign investors can collaborate with its seven hundred (700) member companies.

All parties in attendance highlighted the need for regulatory reform to enable proper banking and trade structure in Guyana.