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ICT and BPO
Guyana

Guyana is an emerging location for ICT and BPO services, which is poised to offer lucrative returns on foreign investments projects. High quality infrastructure, low power costs, and low cost of labour combined with a highly educated, English speaking population, forms the basis of an attractive proposition for potential investors in a range of ICT related activities.

Guyana has experienced strong growth in foreign direct investment in the ICT sector over the past decade. This has primarily come from BPO and telecommunications investments, but investors have also discovered opportunities in web hosting and internet provision, data warehousing, internet service, software development and web page maintenance. Guyana is well placed to serve overseas markets but also has growing domestic demand through the growth and requirement for modernisation of ICT enabled services (such as financial services) and investment in e-Government and public services.

Guyana is one of the lowest cost locations in Latin America for ICT and BPO. The annual salary of a customer service representative is US$3,620 while the average annual salary of a software developer is US$17,442.

Sector Strengths

ICT and BPO Advantages in Guyana

  • As an emerging location for BPO and ICT investments Guyana’s attractive cost proposition has resulted in a number of companies locating in the country. BPO operations have been established by companies such as Qualfon Guyana Inc. and Nand Persaud International Communications have in Guyana and have resulted in BPO being the fastest growing component in the countries ICT sector. However, Guyana also has a burgeoning computer and information services sector due to inward investment from companies such as B & L Investments Inc (USA) and PorTab Inc (Barbados).
  • Guyana has an English speaking workforce of over 300,000, with a neutral accent to cater to other English speaking markets.
  • With gross enrolment rates of 101% and 12.9% for secondary and tertiary education respectively, there is sufficient talent to support new investments in the sector[1]. 3,500 employees already work in the ICT sector in the country[2].
  • The country is ideally located for serving the North American market, and is in the same time zone as the East coast of USA and Canada.

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[1] fDi Intelligence from the Financial Times based on World Development Indicators
[2] Guyana Investment Office, 2016

Investor Testimonials

“Qualfon is making this major investment in Guyana because this is the country that has so much to offer. Guyana provides the perfect location for Qualfon. We find an exceedingly high-calibre workforce, a diverse and friendly culture, as well as a strong government leadership with unwavering dedication to economic growth”

Mr. Mike Marrow, Chief Executive Officer, Qualfon
Incentives

Guyana offers a wide range of incentives to investors in the ICT and BPO sectors. These include:

  • Exemption from Customs Duty on a wide range of ICT equipment including computers and their hardware accessories, integrated circuits, micro assemblies and apparatus
  • Zero rate of Value-Added-Tax on Computers and hardware accessories, routers, switches and hubs for networking computers, toner cartridges and ink cartridges for computer printers
  • Tax Holiday
  • Exemption from duties and taxes for items covered under an Investment Agreement
  • Unlimited carryover of losses from previous years
  • Double taxation treaties with the UK , Canada, Kuwait and Caricom countries
  • Zero rate of Value-Added-Tax on exports
Agribusiness worker 
(annual labour cost  = unskilled production operative)
Electricity cost
The cost for electricity for industrial use per kWh
Water cost 
The cost for water for industrial use per cubic meter.
Gas cost 
The cost for gas for industrial use per cubic meter.
Telecom cost
The cost charged by a leading telecom operator for a 3 minute call to USA
Industrial space (Property) *
capital city – give name - The total cost of industrial space based on rental fees plus any taxes and/or service charge (per sq ft p.a.)
Office space (Property) * 
capital city – give name -The total cost of office space based on rental fees plus any taxes and/or service charge (per sq ft p.a.)
Social security contributions (employer) %
Statutory social security which companies must pay on top of salaries
Select fact file categories to add to export

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Indicators for Labour Costs

Data Point Value Units Year
Labour costs (minimum wage USD per month)1 166 US dollar per month 2015
Social security contributions (employer) %2 8.4 Percentage 2014
Customer Service Representative, annual labour cost3 3620 US dollar 2014
Software Programmer, annual labour cost3 17442 US dollar 2014

1 - World Bank Doing Business
2 - EY Worldwide Personal Tax Guide 2014/15
3 - fDi Intelligence from the Financial Times

Indicators for Utility Costs

Data Point Value Units Year
Electricity cost1 307.8 US dollar per Megawatt per hours 2015
Water cost - The cost for water for industrial use per cubic meter2 0.3 US$/m3 2007
Telecom cost - The cost charged by a leading telecom operator for a 1 minute call to USA3 0.003 USD per minute 2013

1 - Climatescope
2 - Corporacion del acueducto y Acantarillado de Santo Domingo
3 - International Telecommunication Union - ITU

Indicators for Property Costs

Indicators for Taxes

Data Point Value Units Year
Data Point Value Units Year
Top personal tax rate (%)1 33.3 Percentage 2015

1 - The Heritage Foundation

Indicators for Exports

Data Point Value Units Year
Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports)1 41.2 Percentage 2013
Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports)1 6.7 Percentage 2013

1 - World Development Indicators

Transport services (% of commercial service exports)1 14.1 Percentage 2013

Indicators for Size of Industry

Data Point Value Units Year
Number of companies in software & IT services1 1 Number of companies 2016
Number of companies in business services1 56 Number of companies 2016
Number of companies in communications1 6 Number of companies 2016
Number of companies in financial services1 20 Number of companies 2016
Number of BPO FDI projects (2006-15)2 5 FDI projects 2006-2015
Number of BPO FDI jobs (2006-15)2 8563 Jobs 2006-2015

1 - fDi Intelligence from the Financial Times
2 - fDi Markets

Indicators for ICT Infrastructure

Data Point Value Units Year
International internet bandwidth1 9994 Bits per Internet user 2014
Internet bandwidth2 10.2 kb/s per user 2015
Internet download speed (kb/s)3 2279.1 Kilobits per second 2014
Internet upload speed (kb/s)3 1390.7 Kilobits per second 2014
Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people)4 70.5 Subscriptions per 100 people 2014
Percentage of the population covered by mobile-cellular network2 97.1 Percentage 2015
Percentage of households with personal computer2 22.9 Percentage 2015
Secure internet servers4 10.5 Servers per 1 million people 2014

1 - World Development Indicators: The Little Data Book on Information and Communication Technology
2 - Global Information Technology Report, World Economic Forum
3 - fDi Intelligence from the Financial Times based on Ookla Net Index
4 - World Development Indicators

Percentage of individuals using the internet4 37.4 Subscriptions per 100 people 2014

Guyana Office for Investment

190 Camp & Church Streets

Georgetown

Guyana

P: +592-225-0658 or +596-227-0653