Riches From an Oil Boom Prompt Expats to Return Home to Guyana

Entrepreneurs critical to diversify economy dominated by crude
Inflation, labor shortages emerge as key economic challenges

Shoppers pass by vendor stalls at the Stabroek Market in Georgetown, Guyana, on Tuesday, January 23, 2024. The small nation’s economy is one of the fastest-growing in the world.Photographer: Jose A. Alvarado Jr./Bloomberg

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Kevin Crowley

June 28, 2024 at 1:00 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Like 80% of Guyana’s college graduates, Richard Singh had left the tiny South American nation for better job prospects abroad. Then, in a surprising turn of events, he realized he could make more money back home.

“It’s happening, and it’s pretty seismic,” his old high school friend Jason Singh, no relation, told him as Exxon Mobil Corp. began producing its first barrels of oil in 2019. Richard, who was working in venture capital in New York City, moved back in 2022.