MSEs to benefit from US$5M IDB-IPED financing deal

The signing of the agreement

Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Guyana are set to benefit from additional financing after the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) signed a US$5 million loan agreement with the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED) on Thursday.
The agreement was signed at the Ministry of Finance by IDB Country Representative Lorena Solórzano-Salazar and IPED Chief Executive Officer Jagdesh Haripershad, in the presence of officials from both institutions. Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, oversaw the signing, a release said.
The funding is intended to expand IPED’s lending capacity to women, youth and rural entrepreneurs, while also helping the institution diversify its sources of financing.
Delivering brief remarks, Minister Singh thanked the IDB for its continued partnership with the government and described IPED as a critical institution in the country’s economic development, recalling its establishment during a period of economic and political difficulty when private sector activity was limited. He noted the contributions of IPED’s founder, the late Dr Yesu Persaud, and current Chairman Komal Samaroo.
“Over its forty years of service, IPED has disbursed more than 147,000 micro credit loans valued at more than G$64 billion supporting thousands of Guyana’s smallest entrepreneurs. In a small environment like Guyana it is really a remarkable achievement,” Dr Singh said.
“They currently have about 5,000 clients on their books and about 40 percent of IPED’s borrowers are women and about five percent are under twenty-five years of age so they (IPED) have a strong track record of supporting women and young entrepreneurs and working in rural communities having served more than 700 different villages across the length and breadth of Guyana,” he added.
Singh also praised IPED’s efforts in mobilising financing and thanked the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), while highlighting the IDB’s role in supporting private sector development projects, including the soon-to-open Four Points by Sheraton Hotel. He said that since 2020, IDB-Invest has provided more than US$250 million in financing to Guyana’s private sector.
IDB Country Representative Solórzano-Salazar said the institution continues to strengthen its partnership with both the government and the private sector to support business growth. She noted that as the fastest-growing economy in the region, Guyana requires a strong financial sector to support micro and small enterprises, in line with efforts to diversify the economy and improve access to financing.
IDB-Invest Chief Executive Officer James Scriven, who also delivered remarks virtually, said the bank welcomed the agreement and continued to see benefits from the oil and gas sector filtering through the wider economy.
IPED Chairman Komal Samaroo thanked the Government of Guyana, IDB-Invest and JICA, noting that the agreement coincides with IPED’s 40th anniversary this year. He said the institution has made a significant contribution to the development of the micro and small business sector since its establishment in 1986.
The US$5 million facility includes a US$2.5 million loan from IDB-Invest, the private-sector arm of the IDB, and US$2.5 million from JICA’s Trust Fund Achieving Development of Latin America and the Caribbean (TADAC Fund), administered by the IDB.
The government has rolled out several initiatives in recent years to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in partnership with international institutions, injecting billions of dollars to support thousands of businesses nationwide.
In its 2025 manifesto, the administration also committed to establishing a zero-interest Development Bank, offering zero-collateral loans to small and medium enterprises. The proposed bank is expected to benefit youth, women, persons with disabilities and small and medium-scale businesses, with the government committing US$200 million to the initiative.
On Sunday, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali said the government has begun discussions with major companies, including Banks DIH, to create new opportunities for small and medium enterprises through the proposed development bank, which forms part of a broader strategy to expand access to financing and stimulate local entrepreneurship.