The Guyana Development Initiative (GDI), launched in June 2019 with the support of ExxonMobil and Hess Corporation, is an independent effort that brings world-class analysis and strategic thinking to help Guyana on its journey toward shared and sustainable prosperity.
GDI’s mission is to support the Government of Guyana in successfully managing this historic opportunity for national development. In its initial phase, GDI developed a comprehensive national competitiveness strategy, including more than ten sectoral and policy analyses in areas such as health, education, infrastructure, ICT, indigenous communities, and the main business clusters of the Guyanese economy.
During its current phase, GDI is focused on advising the government on the implementation of critical regulatory reforms, mobilizing key priority sectors, and leveraging its global network to support Guyana’s capacity-building efforts.
Results:
Objective 1: Improving Investor Outcomes and Citizen Experience with Government Services. GDI’s regulatory reform efforts include more than 150 specific proposed legal and regulatory changes, including drafting legislation aligned with international best practices and assisting with the implementation of reforms prioritized by the government in areas such as Starting a Business, Access to Finance, Eliminating Barriers to Exports, Eliminating Barriers to Start-Ups, and Digitizing Construction Permits.
Objective 2: Diversifying the Business Base to Avoid the Resource Curse. GDI has provided technical assistance to develop the ecotourism and agriculture sectors.
GDI is working with the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce (MINTIC) and the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) to facilitate the Guyana–Costa Rica tourism partnership and a Government of Guyana visit to Costa Rica. In this effort, GDI identified concrete tourism initiatives with leading Costa Rican organizations and provided follow-up support. GDI also brought a leading ecotourism expert to Guyana to provide technical assistance to existing ecolodges to upgrade their facilities and service offerings. Additionally, GDI facilitated initial engagements between the GTA and Costa Rica’s National Learning Institute (INA) to develop a customized tour guide training program for Guyana.
GDI is working with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and world-class international partners to implement key initiatives that will strengthen the agricultural sector. These efforts include developing the 2023 Agriculture Prospectus for the Agri-Investment Forum, partnering with FDI experts to identify prospective investors, which culminated in an investor mission during the Forum, and supporting the institutional development of NAREI. GDI partnered with UC Davis agricultural experts to conduct a participatory consultative process that resulted in actionable recommendations to strengthen NAREI’s capabilities. GDI is also engaging with the Colombia Agricultural Research Corporation (Agrosavia) to explore potential technical cooperation and is providing strategic support to the MoA for the upcoming 2024 Agri-Investment Forum.
The service:
GDI’s regulatory reform efforts include more than 150 specific proposed legal and regulatory changes. These include drafting legislation based on international best practices and assisting with the implementation of reforms prioritized by the government in the areas of Starting a Business, Access to Finance, Eliminating Barriers to Exports, Eliminating Barriers to Start-Ups, and Digitizing Construction Permits.
