Information & Communication Technology

 

Recently, Guyana has experienced the emergence of a small, but growing IT-enabled Services industry with both domestic and foreign investment (e.g. Canada, Mexico) in call centers and back-office processing operations. Some of the investors have included Guyana as part of a network of business process outsourcing (BPO) centers located in Latin America. Although not widely known as a location for BPO, Guyana possesses a number of advantages that make it an ideal location for IT-enabled services:

English-speaking Workforce – As an English-speaking country, there are few language barriers for providing voice or data services to customers in the U.S. and Canadian markets. This has helped draw the attention of BPO companies based in Latin America.
Accent – Recent investors note that Guyanese workers have an accent more compatible with the U.S. market than those in other Caribbean islands.
Skilled and trainable people – Guyana’s workforce is literate and trainable. To date, call centre investors have noted their ability to attract higher skilled workers, making it possible to reach higher productivity levels.
Time zone – Guyana is in the same time zone as the east coast of the U.S. and Canada, allowing firms to work with customers in those countries on a real-time basis.
Communications Cost – Guyana is able to provide call centers with reasonable ICT costs.

The Government is eager to attract further investment in this area. Not only is the Government providing attractive incentives for investors (e.g. tax holidays), it is also taking steps to improve the regulatory framework for sectors utilizing ICT for services targeting domestic and international markets through the development of policy strategies for ICT and E-commerce.