2nd Local Content Summit: Look at national, regional development models & position yourselves – Pres Ali urges locals

As the 2024 Local Content Summit got underway on Tuesday, President Dr. Irfaan Ali urged businesses looking for opportunity in local content spaces in Guyana, to pay keen attention to the developmental trends, least business opportunities pass them by.
In his keynote address to the attendees of the 2024 Local Content Summit, President Ali noted that the importance of persons positioning themselves based on development trends. The development model being pursued by the government and the region as a whole is no secret, and the President’s advice was for persons to pay keen attention to this.
“We have to look at the backward and forward integration. Looking into the future consortiums and shipping. Logistics. Regional food hub. Agriculture. Marketing. Gas and what gas will bring to us. Building out that whole gas infrastructure will give us the possibility of moving gas and urea into Brazil. The logistics of corn and soya. And it requires conversation and nurturing,” he said.
He also noted that as Guyana’s brand gets stronger, persons must position themselves to be able to provide services that are in demand. The President warned that with international interest in Guyana at an all-time high, foreigners will see the same opportunities Guyanese drag their feet to take up.

“We fight for local content, but what are you doing for this content? How are you positioning yourself? For the brand to get stronger, you also have to build the brand. So, if you think knocking the brand every day is in your interest, then God help all of us. The brand is already established. Our credentials, from an economic perspective. Let us now harness this brand and say, utilising this brand Guyana.”
“We will sit here and then the knock-on effect will pass you. Somebody is gonna come and open a world class eco-tourism facility, right in the rain forest, with VIP tents. And US$5000 per night. And then you’ll say, if I had only known. Knock on effect. Why can’t we build together, a world class eco-tourism company?”
The Local Content Summit is being hosted at the Pegasus Suites and Corporate Centre and was spearheaded by two women led companies… MBW Energy Support Services Inc. and Prestige Management Consultant. President Ali went on to urge attendees not to use the summit as a complain forum, but rather to also look at the positives.
“So, as we come together today to look at opportunities, let us not limit ourselves to what happens here, and let us also not make this a complain forum. Sometimes we bring so much negative energy in a room, that the positive vibes escape us. The future is ours. You decide how you shape it,” he said.
Other speakers at the event included Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC; Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat; Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, and Director of the Local Content Secretariat, Dr. Martin Pertab.
The Local Content Summit serves as an interactive platform for discussions on critical issues. This year’s theme is ‘Creating Value. Driving Economic Expansion’ reflecting the summit’s focus on how local content can act as a catalyst for broader economic growth in Guyana.
The comprehensive program aims to provide attendees with a deeper understanding of the benefits of achieving Local Content certification and strategies to capitalise on available and forthcoming opportunities.
Enacted in Parliament in December 2021, the Local Content Act was crafted to oversee activities within the burgeoning Oil and Gas sector, to propel Guyana’s economic growth and development. It outlines strategies to foster more business, trade, and commerce opportunities, cultivate a skilled and adaptable workforce, and forge strategic alliances with international companies to bolster Guyana’s participation in the Oil and Gas sector, as well as in complementary and non-traditional sectors. (G3)