The government has appointed a seven-member Board of Directors to oversee the Guyana Development Bank as the state-backed financial institution officially begins operations Monday with an initial US$100 million capital injection and a mandate to expand access to financing for Guyanese entrepreneurs and small businesses.
The board will be chaired by Abu Zaman, with Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Kathy Smith serving as deputy chairperson. The other directors are Finance Secretary Sukrishnalall Pasha, attorney and businessman James Bond, aviation executive Dion Inniss, governance specialist Nalinie Singh and entrepreneur and educator Praem Rambharak.
The appointments coincide with the commencement of the Guyana Development Bank Act and the official rollout of an institution the government says will remove some of the traditional barriers that have prevented small businesses, young entrepreneurs, women and vulnerable groups from accessing financing.
The bank will offer eligible borrowers loans of up to G$3 million at zero interest and without collateral. Its initial US$100 million, or approximately G$20 billion, capital injection represents half of the institution’s authorised capital of G$40 billion.
The government has said the bank is intended to function as more than a lending institution. Borrowers will have access to mentorship, training, technical assistance and business development support aimed at helping entrepreneurs establish sustainable operations and eventually transition into the wider commercial banking system.
President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has said the bank will support investments across several sectors, including agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing, tourism, services and technology.
The government is also pursuing a co-financing model under which qualifying borrowers could access additional financing from participating traditional financial institutions at preferential rates.
Access is expected to extend nationwide, with particular emphasis on reaching entrepreneurs in rural, hinterland and riverine communities.
Zaman has more than a decade of senior leadership experience in retail and small-business banking. He is chief administrative officer of ENet, chairman of the Small Business Council and chairman of the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee of the Natural Resource Fund. He holds an MBA in leadership and innovation and a bachelor’s degree in management.
Smith has more than two decades of public and private sector experience and is president of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry and vice chairperson of the Private Sector Commission. She also chairs the Board of Industrial Training and has worked extensively in business, workforce development and SME capacity building.
Pasha, Guyana’s finance secretary, has extensive experience in public financial management and institutional governance. He chairs the Bureau of Statistics and serves on the boards of the Guyana Revenue Authority and University of Guyana Council. He previously served on the Public Procurement Commission and chaired the Small Business Council.
Bond is an attorney and businessman whose legal career spans more than two decades. A former state counsel in the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions, he is a PPP/C member of Parliament, senior legal adviser to the Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation and managing director of Bond Optimum.
Inniss has more than 25 years of aviation industry experience and is Caribbean Airlines’ sales executive for Guyana and Suriname. He is also a member of the National Sports Commission and third vice president of the Guyana Football Federation.
Singh is a governance reform strategist specialising in institutional development, policy and public administration. She serves on the Board of Governors of The Bishops’ High School and as a commissioner of the Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission.
Rambharak, an educator and entrepreneur, has been involved in establishing several small and medium-sized enterprises over the past two decades. He is a member of the President’s Youth Advisory Council and holds a doctorate in management and a master’s degree in small and medium enterprise management.
The establishment of the bank was announced as a major financial empowerment measure in the government’s 2026 national budget. The administration committed US$100 million to capitalise the institution and provide financing to groups that have traditionally faced difficulty meeting commercial banks’ collateral and other lending requirements.
The initiative also fulfils a commitment in the PPP/C’s 2025 election manifesto to establish a development bank offering zero-interest financing and business support.
The Guyana Development Bank Act was passed by the National Assembly in July, paving the way for the institution to become operational.
The government has spent recent months conducting public engagements and sensitisation activities ahead of the bank’s launch, with particular emphasis on ensuring that young people, women and vulnerable groups understand how to access its financing and support services.
President Ali has described the institution as part of a broader effort to create a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem in which Guyanese can turn ideas into viable businesses, expand existing enterprises and participate more directly in the country’s economic transformation.