GCCI’s Small Business Week: Businesses told of need for strategic collaboration to ensure collective success

As the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (GCCI’s) National Small Business Week came to an end on Saturday, a final seminar engaging key business leaders urged the need for strategic collaboration between companies and all stakeholders, to ensure collective success in Guyana’s growing economy.
This seminar was one of the last activities on the event roster for the GCCI’s National Small Business Week, which aimed to aid growing businesses under the GCCI membership. Speaking at the seminar, GCCI President Kester Hutson noted that despite the competitive nature of the business sector, collaboration is vital for sustainable growth.

“By pooling our skills, finances and other resources, we can drive shared value, collectively strengthen our position in the market, and maximise our gains. In this era of unprecedented growth in Guyana, the opportunities are immense, and the potential rewards are vast,” Hutson has said.
Strategic collaboration, Hutson said, thereby enables businesses to access the benefits of knowledge transfer and capacity building, which leads to a reduction of risks that MSMEs often bear.
“This approach aligns with the Government’s emphasis on joint ventures and consortiums, not only for large companies, but also for the MSMEs. Fostering collaboration encourages large enterprises to actively engage in mentorship for startups and MSMEs, and even consider outsourcing certain operations in smaller businesses,” Hutson said.

These partnerships enable MSMEs to scale up efficiently while avoiding the challenges of spreading themselves thin by scaling across various sectors. Hutson added that they also offer MSMEs the opportunity to enhance brand reputation and improve the quality of their products and services.
To show their commitment to inter-business collaboration, the GCCI is soon to launch a member-to-member discount programme to promote internal growth and mutual support within their membership.
Hutson also highlighted the need to have a strong partnership between the Public and Private Sectors to address the scarcity of skilled and semi-skilled workers.

Advancing & collaborations
Meanwhile, Nicholas Deygoo, Director of Guyana Oil and Gas Support Services, noted the importance of listening, interpreting key information, and executing as key steps in advancing a business and maintaining collaborations.
“You have customers, employees, suppliers, financiers, the general community, regulatory bodies and agencies. And to get your products and services out every day, you’re going to have to collaborate every day in every relationship,” Deygoo said.
To be a good leader, Deygoo stressed, there is need to also listen and collaborate with employees, in order to maintain a healthy work environment.
“You have to listen to the people you lead, and then you have to interpret what they’re telling you: What is most important to them? How do you get the best out of them? You’re going to have to figure out how to create that work contract and that work environment that gives them what they desire, so that their productivity can be built,” Deygoo said. This mentality translates to relationships with banks, customers, and within the larger business community as well, Deygoo added.
“When you start to grow, don’t be an isolated member in your community, because one of the best ways of getting your product out is word of mouth,” Deygoo said.
“Your engagement with the community creates advocates who will help promote your business and you,” he added.