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Owner of Guyana Market International (GMI), Mwanza Porte, is using her success as a businesswoman to motivate other young women to start their own businesses.
GMI was established during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with coconut biscuit as its signature product, and has since developed to include a line of other local products—including plantain chips, tamarind balls, fried channa and split peas, pepper sauces, green seasoning, and dried seasonings.
Speaking with Ignite News, Porte related that she was motivated to utilise her time wisely and venture into agro-processing, as the world was at a standstill.
“I would like to encourage young women to try to open something, venture into agro-processing. You could develop a product. Once you love to do what you are doing, you will better yourself at it. We started the packaging in plastic bags. Today, we have met the international standard,” she noted.
The successful businesswoman shared that her passion for making local food items was also a motivating factor, in addition to encouragement she received from others.
She said that, though she has encountered challenges along the way, she refuses to ‘throw in the towel.’
One of those challenges, she noted, is managing her business while being a mother and having a full-time job.
“I am a public servant, I am also a mother, wife, a student. I try to manage my time first by putting what is a priority. Sometimes it’s very challenging because– go to work, come home, you have others to attend to, make products, you know, those things, they are very challenging. However, I try at the end of the week to give myself at least one or two hours of ‘my time’ to try to find myself,” she said.
GMI has since rebranded and upgraded the quality of its products through enhanced packaging.
Porte advises that once you have a passion for something, you will be motivated to improve and become innovative along the way.
