7-member Board named as Guyana Development Bank comes into operation today – INews Guyana

With the Guyana Development Bank (GBA) officially coming into operation today, the Government has named a seven-member Board of Directors to manage the financial institution that would be offering zero-interest, no-collateral loans to Guyanese individuals and small businesses.

Leading the Bank is Chairman Abu Zaman, who brings more than a decade of senior leadership in Retail and Small Business Banking. He currently serves as 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. His professional experience encompasses executive leadership, governance, financial services, institutional oversight, and small business development. Zaman holds an MBA in Leadership and Innovation and a bachelor’s degree in management.

President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and Vice Chair of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Kathy Smith, will serve as the Deputy Chairperson of the GBA. With over two decades of public and private sector experience, she also chairs the Board of Industrial Training and serves as a Board Trustee of Iwokrama River Lodge. Her leadership spans business, energy, workforce development and SMEs capacity building, with a particular passion for advancing women and youth and strengthening their participation in Guyana’s economic development. Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and a Graduate Certificate in Management.

Among the five Board Directors named are Finance Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Sukrishnalall Pasha, who is a financial analyst, and an academic and public sector leader with extensive experience in public financial management and institutional governance. He also serves as Chairman of the Bureau of Statistics and Member of the Board of Governors of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Council of the University of Guyana (UG). Pasha also previously served as a Commissioner of the Public Procurement Commission, Chairman of the Small Business Council and Senior Lecturer at the University of Guyana. Pasha holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in accounting and finance.

Attorney-at-law and businessman, James Bond, has also been named as a director on the board. His 24-year legal career began as a State Counsel in the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), representing the State at the Criminal Assizes in the counties of Essequibo, Berbice and Demerara. Bond now sits as a Member of Parliament for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, and Senior Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation. He is the Managing Director of Bond Optimum and is nationally recognised for his grassroots activism in youth empowerment and entrepreneurship, and served as Chairman of the Adoption Board from 2017 to 2020. He also served on the National Sports Commission in 2015 and as President of the Guyana Chess Federation from 2017 to 2019.

Additionally, senior corporate aviation manager with over 25 years of experience in the airline industry, Dion Inniss, was also selected as a Director of the bank. As the Sales Executive for Guyana and Suriname at Caribbean Airlines Limited, he leads commercial strategy and regional stakeholder engagement. He is also a member of the National Sports Commission. He also serves as the third Vice- President of the Guyana Football Federation, advancing youth empowerment and grassroots community development. Inniss brings strong expertise in connectivity and human capital.

Also on the Board is Nalinie Singh, a governance reform strategist specialising in institutional development, democratic governance and youth political inclusion. Her expertise spans policy analysis, strategic planning, institutional reform, civic engagement, and public administration. She serves on the Board of Governors of her alma mater, The Bishops’ High School, and as a Commissioner of the Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission. Singh holds a master’s degree in political science and an advanced diploma in Business Administration.

The remaining GBA Director has been identified as Praem Rambharak, a former columnist and educator, has been involved in the establishment of multiple SMEs over two decades. He is a member of the President’s Youth Advisory Council and a leader at the intersection of innovation, public service, and youth empowerment. Rambharak holds a PhD in Management, a master’s degree in small and medium enterprise management, and a diploma in engineering.

With an initial capital of US$100 million, the state-backed financial institution comes on stream today, offering loans of up to G$3 million to citizens as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across a wide spectrum of sectors, with no collateral required and free of any interest.

Over the past few months, the Government has been ramping up its education programme to sensitise citizens across the country about the financial institution that is seeking to target young people, women and vulnerable groups.

The Development Bank is designed as a complete support ecosystem that helps businesses start, grow, and succeed. Beyond access to financing, the bank will offer guidance, technical support, business development services, mentorship, and capacity-building programmes to help entrepreneurs make informed decisions, strengthen their operations, and eventually graduate into the wider commercial banking system.

The Guyana Development Bank Act was passed in the National Assembly back in July, paving the way for its operationalisation – a 2025 Elections Manifesto promise by the PPP/C to ensure that Guyanese are supported to participate in the country’s transformation.

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