The Guyana Development Bank has received between 15,000 and 20,000 applications since it began operating on 5 October, according to President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali. He said the online application process allowed people to apply without queuing or dealing with administrative delays.

The bank opened under legislation passed by the National Assembly on 27 July and assented to by the President on 30 July. The Ministry of Finance said it would provide loans of up to GY$3 million to small and medium-sized enterprises in all ten regions, with no collateral requirement and no interest charged. Applications are made through an online platform, and approved loans are paid into the borrower's bank account. Applicants can also ask for an appointment to meet a bank officer in person.

Two loan types are on offer. Quick loans of up to GY$300,000 use a simplified process and reduced documentation. SME loans of between GY$300,000 and GY$3 million need slightly more paperwork. Mr Ali has said the money is lent and not granted, and the government has said borrowers will be expected to take part in coaching and skills training.

Technical teams are reviewing the applications and sorting them by the sector of the proposed investment. Mr Ali said the process gives particular attention to entrepreneurial proposals from young people. The institution is designed to combine digital processing with outreach in communities, which the government says will limit bureaucracy. Earlier this year Mr Ali said officials were considering desks in commercial banks and regional facilitators to bring in interested applicants.

The volume of applications can be set against the bank's capital. The 2026 budget provided a first tranche of GY$20 billion, about US$100 million, which is half of the bank's authorised share capital of GY$40 billion. Should all 20,000 applicants request the GY$3 million limit, the bank would face demand of GY$60 billion. Most applicants will probably seek less, particularly those applying for quick loans below GY$300,000, so the figure is an upper limit and does not describe actual demand. The bank has not published the amounts requested.

The count also does not say how many applications meet the eligibility criteria. Mr Ali has said the bank will use clear eligibility rules and will publish lists of beneficiaries so that communities can scrutinise them. Those lists will show how many applications convert into loans, and how quickly. Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh has said viable applications should be processed in the shortest possible time.

The institution has drawn criticism from the opposition. Azruddin Mohamed, the Leader of the Opposition, has said the law does not set strict penalties for corruption involving the misuse of the bank's funds. He has also argued that a bank capitalised with public money and able to lend without collateral or interest at its board's discretion needs stronger safeguards against partisan control, and he has pointed to appointment procedures in other countries as examples. The government has presented the bank as a grassroots institution for ordinary Guyanese.

Mr Ali also asked citizens to obtain digital identification cards and open bank accounts, which he described as foundations of the country's digital economy. The platform needs applicants to have an account, because loans are paid into one and repaid through the banking system. The Ministry of Finance said more than 179,000 new bank accounts have been opened since October 2024, with nearly 60,000 of them between April and August 2026. The President has said a digital identification system has been launched.

The bank's board is completing its evaluation of candidates for chief executive officer, and an appointment is expected soon. Under the 2026 law the board appoints the chief executive, who runs day-to-day operations, supervises staff and lending, and carries out the board's decisions.

That appointment will matter given the early demand. A chief executive will take charge of a backlog of applications that the bank's staff are already working through, and of public expectations about how quickly loans will follow.

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