How did you arrive at the idea for your business? I was working with a hardware company and a French company came in that had been hired to fix the foundation of a local hospital. We didn’t have the big parts they needed – generators, an excavator, that kind of thing – so they asked if I could help find them. So I did that in my spare time and soon my income for a single day was higher than my monthly salary. I left that job and, with my last month’s salary, started my company on 14 February 2000. I started helping people figure out engineering problems then moved into distribution, consulting and coaching. After completing my MBA I bought the ActionCOACH franchise and we’re now into our fifth year and have grown significantly. Your key driving force to become an entrepreneur I think it’s just to stop with this ‘getting by’ mentality and to get to true prosperity, because I know it’s possible. As an engineer, the skill is built in – an engineer can’t tell you that a problem can’t be solved. I always see better ways and if people don’t want to put them in place, I feel like my value isn’t fully appreciated. I realised that if I worked on my own and delivered the value I know I can, salaries don’t compare to what’s possible. Greatest challenge being an entrepreneur? Attracting people who understand the vision, selecting them, training them to be part of your team – that is both a challenge and an opportunity. I think the real challenge, though, can be the people around you. Every single day we evolve, but some people prefer the old version, and do their best to keep that version alive. When they don’t want to become better versions of themselves, that’s their choice but when they’re holding other people back – I have an issue with that. What has been your most satisfying moment in business? I’ve travelled around the world because of my service to the private sector – I’ve been to Singapore, Brazil, Hawaii… so many places. Getting my MBA at 32 was a highlight as well. And I recently finished my PhD in Management, specialising in entrepreneurship, after three and a half years. The highlight would be seeing my wife and daughter taking an interest in the business and pursuing studies to better equip themselves to provide value to those we serve. What piece of advice give to other young people who want to become entrepreneurs? Get fantastic mentors. Today I pay some of my mentors and coaches, because they’re able to look and me and say: ‘Why are you doing it that way? Have you considered this way?’ I know how valuable that is. But remember: mentors are not perfect human beings; they’re flawed like all of us. Find someone who does the thing you aspire to be really well and ask them to mentor you on that part. How do you define success? Unlocking my own potential first of all and then utilising that to unlock other people’s potential so that we can have better lives – to me that’s success. Who has been your greatest inspiration? My parents got divorced when I was 8 or 9, so I spent a lot of time with my maternal and paternal grandmothers. They really took me and my brothers under their wings. The belief they had – this unflinching belief that we would grow up and be very successful –it was magical. So it was just hardwired in my brain: if they said it, it had to be true!

From facing the challenges of growing up in two different countries, to owning his first business at the age of 19, to becoming one of the most influential business persons in Guyana by the age of 41, our next feature is truly a role model for us all... And so it is with the greatest honor that we introduce you to Dr. Vishnu Doerga, husband, father, and the founder of ActionINVEST Caribbean, under whose umbrella our feature business for today, ActionCOACH Guyana falls. Dr. Doerga (or Vishnu, as we will call him for this feature) is no stranger to any of us. He has been written about and featured quite a few times over the years (including in last Sunday’s Kaieteur News), in various capacities. In addition, under his leadership and guidance, ActionCOACH Guyana has practically become a household name. But who was Dr. Vishnu Doerga before all of this??? We recently reached out to him, and he humbly and graciously agreed to allow us to write our feature on him, and the organizations he founded and built. * Born in neighbouring Suriname, Vishnu was thrust into the care of his grandparents at the age of 9. He was born into a family with a rich legacy in business (his paternal family were involved in the business of agriculture and trading for over 100 years, while his maternal grandmother was the owner of a school). So from that young age, Vishnu was exposed to mentorship both in the art of business, and in education. He remained in the care of his grandparents up to the age of 14. Then he moved to Guyana, where he was placed under the care and guidance of his uncle, an experienced and accomplished business man, named Turhane Doerga. His uncle became, and still remains to this day, his greatest mentor. His first job was with this uncle. It was also while he was employed there that he met the love of his life, his soulmate, Davitri. She became his wife and his business partner, and remain so up until today. After completing studies in engineering, Vishnu worked for a short while with a local engineering firm. But entrepreneurship was always in his DNA. And so he decided that he was ready, and more than capable of starting his very own business. At 19 years old, he did just that. On the 14th February of 2000, Doerga Business Enterprise was officially launched. Six months after the launch, his wife quit her job, and has remained by his side ever since as his business partner. He pointed out that he chose to make the decision of starting his own reasons because, in his own words: " I realized very early that I had the capacity to add a lot more value to those that I served". He quickly realized though, that owning your own business came with a lot of challenges. You see, Vishnu had a clear vision of where he wanted to take his business. But in order to realize that vision, he needed to secure financing. But very quickly, he realized that to secure a loan as a young, first time entrepreneur from any of the banks was practically impossible. Frustrated, he sought advice from his uncle, who gave him one of the best pieces of advice he has ever received. His uncle said to him: "Work on building your credibility. If you commit to something, do it. And once you establish yourself as a credible person, you will never have to worry about loans again". He has followed that advice to the letter since. By the age of 27, Vishnu had managed to build his business to reach a stage where he no longer needed to be directly in charge. So he retired as the head, and left it in the very capable hands of his wife, while he turned his focus to new goals. One of those goals was to provide service to the private and public sectors. He did this by serving as President of the upper Corentyne chamber of commerce, then as head of the Georgetown chamber of commerce and industry (GCCI). In the public service, he served as Chairman of the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS), and as Vice Chairman of the Government office for Investment (GoInvest). Another of his goals was to further enhance his education. He did this by earning an MBA, and completing his studies for a Ph.D. in management, specializing in entrepreneurship (earning the title of Doctor). But Vishnu had way bigger goals too. Having been at the helm of his own business since he was still a teenager, Vishnu knew how challenging it was to make a business successful. After all, even though he was exposed to a wealth of mentorship from the age of 9, there were still lots and lots of challenges he had to overcome to make his business a success. So what about those who were trying to successfully grow their business, who had no exposure to the wealth of knowledge and experience to which he was exposed?? These questions led him to the conclusion that there was a deep need to have available for business owners, a facility that offered business development training. And he was determined to fill this gap. After careful research and planning, he purchased an international business coaching franchise known as ActionCOACH. ActionCOACH is one of the world's leading business coaching brands, with proven success rates in hundreds of countries. And in 2014, ActionCOACH Guyana was officially launched. With a trusted and highly capable team of trainers and coaches, they embarked on the journey of building businesses into success stories by offering them step by step techniques on how to manifest their success goals. They developed tried and tested techniques to coach business owners and heads of organizations, as well as for their team members. To date, ActionCOACH has helped thousands of individuals, and hundreds of businesses to become highly efficient, and achieve bigger profits. Ever the visionary, Vishnu went even further outside the box by putting systems and procedures in place to make ActionCOACH ISO certified. This makes the organization the first business learning institution to achieve this certification (along with the umbrella organization, ActionINVEST Caribbean, or ACI). A few of the services provided by ActionCOACH Guyana includes: - Leadership development. - Corporate training. - Behavioral assessments for personal and business growth. These, along with many other services, are provided to small, medium and large businesses. On what fills Vishnu with the most pride, he glowingly talks about how much joy he feels when he looks at the achievements of his 20 year old daughter, who is now successfully running her own companies. To perfectly sum up the commitment and drive of this business trail blazer, we will end this feature by quoting verbatim, a few words that were written as part of a post on his Facebook page: " No excuse needs to hold you back; coming from a broken home, being abandoned, having to move almost yearly for 20 years, being paralyzed, nearly dying twice, missing school for a year, being dumped in another country, being physically abused, being hungry, English being your second language, being seen as an outsider, no money, people not being willing to lend you any, having your apartment being burgled twice, being robbed and stabbed twice, dropping out of university, marrying early, getting into a vehicular accident, being slandered, being plotted against, being envied, being doubted... nothing needs to stop you if you do not let it". To the small businesses, and business owners, if you would like to take your business to the next level, if you would like to make it more efficient, profitable etc, please call, message or reach out to Vishnu and his team. During this new age of economic development, our local businesses especially need to improve in order to be able to properly capitalize on opportunities.

Dr Vishvanath K.P.V. Doerga, Guyanese by nationality was born on the 6th April, 1980, fluent speaker of English, Dutch and partial Spanish and Hindi hold several certificates, degrees, MBA and PhD. Dr Doerga worked at several organizations holding designations of Director, Chairman, and Vice Chair, etc. Started his career as an engineer but is an entrepreneur and business developer by heart. Dr Vishvanath K.P.V. Doerga holds several awards and has contributed to the growth and development of several businesses in Guyana. On 27-March- 2021 Indo-Caribbean Society Mr Bala Kumar interviewed Dr Doerga highlighting his many business Services. The question was asked how you balance work and family. This is what Dr. Doerga had to say: “I started achieving some amount of harmony when I decided to focus on what I wanted to achieve and the type of life I wanted. And I used a calendar to map out what I want to do and when. Lots of executive use a Google calendar to map out what they want to achieve for the company or business or career, and fail to map out time for their family and so in my calendar I have everything there, time for myself first of all, what time to sleep, exercise, eat, read etc. also time for my family, going places with my family and doing things with my family. This is what creates not a balance but more of a harmony and helps me to focus my time on what’s important. Of course, there are times when you have to make tough choices but my family knows how much I value them and I do my best to make that time for them even after or before a clashing activity”. Dr Doerga was further asked by Mr Bala Kumar. You have a degree in Engineering and now you are into business coaching and management training how did that change happen? His response was “In My family we have a lot of engineers and so I was for most of my life surrounded by that type of influence and I felt it almost natural that I pursue something in engineering. I did mechanical engineering because I thought it had a lot to do with cars and I love cars. As an engineer you can do so much technically. You have to be able to speak the engineering language in order to communicate easily with other technical people. I started my business in February 2000 and what amazes me with business is that you start out with 100% resources and you have the opportunity through the business to multiply those resources. I started my business with my last engineering salary and turned that into more than 1000 fold by now which truly amazes me. With engineering if you started out with a 100% stock of material you could only get as much as the materials worth you started off with. So this fascinated me and help me to dive a little deeper into business. The engineering track is always there so whenever I am confronted with something that requires technical skills I can deal with that. I may not always tell people, people know me for strategy and for solving problems, and know that engineering is still in me. This helps me to look at problems from different angles and find solutions”. When we stated Dr Vishvanath K.P.V Doerga is an entrepreneur and business developer by heart it was not just a statement, when asked about his business ventures and services offer this was his answer: “It all started some 18 years ago when I joined a business support organization, my business was doing well, I was 2 years into business and thought let me join a business support organization, because this will benefit my organization as well as being able to contribute my skills to others. With business support organizations sometimes, the egos take over and we forget that are we supposed to be serving people. I have joined several organizations and helped them increase their presence, profit and impact and in 2014 I bought a business coaching franchise, ActionCOACH, which has been around for 27 years, in 80 plus countries and has helped us grow business revenues, providing jobs and paying taxes which benefit our country. We have coached, trained and consulted with Businesses owners & executives, NGO’s, Government entities. We also offer Marketing services via the Who’s Who in Guyana Business Directory and TV Show. Additionally we also provide Human Resources Development and Recruitment services. With Guyana entering the oil and gas industry we always knew that we wanted to be big on the human capital development side of things. Many parts of this industry are new to Guyana and our team visited places that were ahead of this curve. We visited places like Houston, Texas (USA), St. John, Newfoundland (Canada), Aberdeen (Scotland), etc. because these places were 20, 40, 60 years ahead of us, to look at what the future could look like for Guyana and what we noticed were all these services that Guyana didn’t have as yet. We were fortunate that one of the leading companies in Canada that provides staffing and recruiting for companies like ExxonMobil was doing their market research on possible partnerships in Guyana and they were referred to us. We both did our background checks and then decided to go into a joint venture named NSBOmega Guyana and got Incorporated in 2018. This company is majority Guyanese owned and majority women owned. In 2019 we took part in a competitive bidding process and were awarded an ExxonMobil staffing contact. We also provide recruiting for a number of Guyanese companies and several Multi Nationals as well. They are happy with the service since we are a training company, when we place people we are very conscious of the fact that we want our people not only qualify but be competent, committed and willing to do these jobs. We also ensure the salaries on offer are at a decent compensating level”. We also offer ISO Services: - “The story behind this is that I was the chair at the Bureau of Standards back in 2015 – 2016. I was selected because of my engineering background and also being the head of the Chamber of Commerce at the time and it really allowed me over the years to understand how companies adhering to standards could really set themselves up to be more competitive both locally and internationally. So I developed that love for standards and became that advocate for standards and in 2017 we started moving ActionINVEST Caribbean Inc towards ISO compliance and eventual certification. My Daughter joined us in 2018 and as an intern she was actually placed in our compliance department and she started to take a liking to ISO and system development. By the time 2019 rolled around we were compliant. We were actually approached by one of the world’s largest registrars to look at providing the service here and my daughter said this is something she would like to get involved in and we prepared her and helped her with the funding and she is now the majority owner of Global Compliance Service Guyana, which is a 100% Guyanese owned company. She was fortunate to be joined by the previous CEO of the Bureau of Standards, Ms Candelle Bostwick, who is also part owner of the company and together they have been really working hard to educate people on the standards. Several companies have already become certified through their efforts. Companies that have good standards and good systems are able to afford higher level of staff benefits and can also charge more for they services. They can also operate better internationally and are therefore not just limited to Guyana’s shores. One of the barriers of companies becoming ISO certified was the high cost and that there were no local Registrars. Today ISO services are more accessible and affordable”. Who’s Who in Guyana Business Directory “When we started off we were really in the situation of how we would get other businesses to know of us and there were no really good business to business channels. Newspaper and television marketing was more appropriate for business to consumer marketing channels. Through working in the Caribbean we noticed that the Who’s Who business directory did well in T&T, Jamaica and Barbados and we acquired the license for Guyana. We are now unto our third edition which is going to be the largest one yet and it has really done well for us and all the featured organizations in getting the required exposure. We print 12000 hard copies per year and which goes to all the agencies that has to do with investment like Go-Invest, Centre for local business development and it is also widely distributed internationally and the website received more than 50,000 visits last year”. A follow up question was asked - How do you see the future of the training and Coaching industry in Guyana In Guyana we have three extremely large deficits:  Infrastructure deficit – I see a building boom happening in Guyana for the next 10 -20 years which has already started and so we need a lot of competent contractors and workers.  Health Deficit – Our citizen need a higher level of health care and in that case I am happy to know TAU is playing their part to fill that deficit and I am sure there will be lots of other investors coming to fill healthcare deficits.  Education – Our education system has not changed much over the past 5 or 6 decades and what the world requires today is much different from what the world required in the 50’s and 60’s. So companies coming in to serve the education market really have their work cut for them to really transform our human resources, our people, into a highly productive resource for the country. We believe in partnerships; we believe that collaboration will allow us to provide quality services to a population that really needs it. Yes we have 750,000 people living here in Guyana, we have more than that in the diaspora and as soon as salaries get to a decent level I think a number of them will come back, we will also have a lot of migrant labor that will be heading to Guyana that would also need a required capacity development. TAU is a good example of providing a high quality education and attracting people from all over the world to received their education in Guyana. It’s almost like education tourism and if that is a field that further needs to develop then Darwin said “the strongest will survive”, we wouldn’t know who the strongest are until we have that evolution and that addition of more resources in the market. When asked about Changes Dr. Doerga brought into companies (success stories). The following three (3) companies was list and part of the story:-  Caribbean Motor Spares – We started serving them 5 years ago. When started out there were 5 employees on the West Coast, with a leader that was very passionate about serving customers but he wanted need to learn how, the strategies and to get clarity. Today he has over 20 employees, the revenues are much larger, expansion to three locations now and the growth ahead will be multiple times bigger, they have even had a change name to a regional brand.  Techlify – It was just over 2 years ago with them and they were challenged with what the future for technology would be in this country. The company has over 20 employees now and serves client both locally and internationally and they are one of the best technology companies now in Guyana and they are providing high end technology Jobs. The type of Jobs we read about but never though would be available here in Guyana.  Cummings Wood Products one of our first clients some 6 years ago, developed the Floor It Guyana brand. In Guyana they are one of the leading companies when it comes to wood products more specifically value-added finished wood product. They move from having one location to having a state-of-the-art showroom. The quality and the pride this company brings to Guyanese products is phenomenal. When we started out with them they really had to fight the stigma of Guyanese products not being of high or only being a decent quality and now their products are being shipped around the world and people get to understand the brand and quality that is being provided. Message for ICS: “Education is extremely important and anything we can do as a society to improve and support access to education for anyone that seeks it or anyone that needs to be exposed to it I think would be a lasting legacy. It is also one that really provides the development that we speak a lot about and all of us want to live in better countries and we want to have better societies but education is really that Key. There are many people who are well skilled, well intentioned and not making full use of the skills and organizations that they are a part of”. “People need to explore ways in which they can package and share those skills by participating in different organizations, by utilizing the platforms that are created like ICS to find truly impactful opportunities serve individuals, organizations as well nations ”.

ACI founder and leading business development coach Dr. Vishnu Doerga is, a Special Person If you own a business in Guyana or the diaspora, chances are you have heard of Dr. Vishnu Doerga. Dr. Doerga is one of the nation’s leading entrepreneurs and business development coaches whose entrepreneurship journey began when he was just nineteen years old. Today at age 41, Dr. Doerga is the founder of ActionINVEST Caribbean Inc. (ACI)---Guyana‘s premier business development/education facility and boasts a professional portfolio that exerts his wealth of experience in the entrepreneurial and economic spheres. Having held prominent roles within the private sector including President of the Upper Corentyne Chamber of Commerce as well as Head of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce (GCCI), this week’s Special Person’s has certainly used his efforts to impact the local business community. And as former Chairman of the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) and former Vice-Chair of the Guyana Office for Investment (GOINVEST) he has had a similar influence in the public sector. Combined, Dr. Doerga has in excess of 20 years of experience in roles that provide support to Guyanese businesses. Added to his working knowledge, Dr. Doerga is also qualified in his field holding a Ph.D. in management specialising in entrepreneurship as well as an MBA and a Diploma in Engineering. Additionally, he has numerous local and international awards for his role in business leadership, some of which include the BizX 2020 Best Business Speaker and Most Influential Business Guru awards and the GCCI’s 2011 Young Business Executive Award. However, the business development coach regards none of his professional attributes as high as his advocacy and coaching capabilities. It’s these platforms that, he says, offer him the leverage he needs to make a lasting imprint on the business community. So far, he has done exactly that, ever so often offering advice and pointing his fellow entrepreneurs and his clients in the direction of growth and success. In fact, many of his clients are successful business owners and have testimonials of how their businesses have developed and expanded based on the professional coaching capabilities of Dr. Doerga and his expert team at ACI. In his capacity as Chairman of the business development institute, Dr. Doerga is constantly working to help other business people be the best version of themselves. He told Kaieteur News, “I see myself in a role that will allow me to develop Guyana at a faster rate …the ultimate goal is to use my skills to help transform Guyana’s economy from a developing country to a first world country one business at a time….” And while Dr. Doerga is often credited for helping to steer businesses in the direction of success with his professional guidance and advice, he has certainly benefited throughout his career from similar words of wisdom. He told this publication that while business and education run in his family, he has received some of the best mentorship and advice from his grandparents and Uncle Turhane Doerga. FAMILY LEGACY Indeed, family is important to Dr. Doerga. This is evident in the love and commitment he shows to his wife of over 20 years, Mrs. Davitri Doerga, and their daughter Divya. The businessman revealed that while building a legacy of his own is important, he comes from a bloodline that created the blueprint for the successes he has attained today. “I was born in Suriname and grew up there with grandparents from the age of nine years …my paternal grandparents were in the agriculture and trading businesses for over 100 years and on my maternal side, my grandmother was into education, she actually owned a school. I lived above that school in Nickerie, Suriname,” Dr. Doerga shared of his upbringing. He noted that his grandparents mentored him until he was 14 years old and then when he moved to Guyana, his uncle; an astute Guyanese businessman took over that role. “ Uncle Turhane has been my mentor for a very long time, I remember when I first started my engineering company at nineteen years old, I didn’t have a lot of money to invest, I was seeking a loan and I couldn’t get the money to borrow from the banks… he gave me the best piece of advice… he told me ‘work on building your credibility, if you commit to something, do it and once you develop and establish yourself as a credible person you wouldn’t have to worry about loans again’ and he was correct,” explained Dr. Doerga. He noted too that it was this very uncle that gave him his first job. "On my first day on the job I met my wife, she worked there, her beautiful face was the first face I saw when I opened the door," he said. Given the entrepreneurial heritage, Doerga was not an average teenager. After a short period of working with a local engineering company, the young professional had acquired enough skills to launch out on his own. And at the age of 19 years he established his first company; Doerga Business Enterprise. The Suriname-born Guyanese business development leader/coach told Kaieteur News that the business started on February 14, 2000, after he realized that he had the capacity to add a lot more value to those he served. He revealed that after starting the company, his wife quit her job and joined him six months later. By the age of 27 years, Dr. Doerga was able to retire as head of the company, leaving it in the capable hands of his wife and business partner. He went on to focus on completing his formal tertiary education and on serving the private and public sector in various roles. Reflecting on their achievements, Dr. Doerga said “Together with our teams we have achieved business and personal success. We started as an engineering supply company then evolved into a nationwide distribution company with our own branded products and now the leading ISO certified business education company with so much more on the horizon.” At this juncture of his life, the happily married father of one finds gratification in strong family values and taking care of his physical, mental, and spiritual health. He shared that “seeing my daughter grow into her own confident, intelligent young professional who in her own right is achieving great success with her own companies at the age of 20 is by far my greatest accomplishment." He is very passionate about the personal, professional, and organizational development of the numerous organizations he supports. DREAM TEAM Prior to launching ACI, Dr. Doerga saw the need for a facility that offered business development training. He became intentional about filling the gap and purchased an international franchise from ActionCOACH—a globally recognized business development coaching brand and went to work. To date, the company, which started in 2014, offers individuals and entities step-by-step techniques on how to manifest their success goals with the assistance of experienced and accomplished business trainers and coaches. Under the auspices of Dr. Doerga and his equally dedicated team of over 12 staffers, ActionCOACH Guyana became the only International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 9001:2015 certified educational institution and business development company across all global ActionCOACH franchisees. The coaching franchise falls under the umbrella of ACI Inc. which is also ISO 9001:2015 certified and provides quality mentorship and training to over 500 local business owners, executives, and managers, and thousands of their team members, offering them the insight and training they need to achieve their set goals. The company, which is headquartered at Parade Street, Kingston, Georgetown, also offers similar services to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and governmental agencies. Among its host of services, ActionCOACH offers leadership development, corporate training, and behavioural assessment reports for personal and business growth. According to Dr. Doerga, the company has been helping to drive the local economy by being directly or indirectly responsible for the pursuit of innovative ideas and business strategies, which help to create new jobs in Guyana. Via its website, the company displays testimonials of individuals in the micro, medium, and large-scale companies that have experienced the positive impact and growth using its service. Among those featured, is the charismatic proprietor of private school Camille’s Academy, Ms. Camille Deokie. The teacher-turned entrepreneur spoke of her concerns about how her institute would survive when the COVID-19 pandemic caused the closure of businesses and schools in 2020. However, with the intellectual capacity and networking support ActionCOACH brought to the table, her business was able to achieve in one year what we had planned for three years – in spite of the pandemic. “The things we accomplished in a short period of time – growth, systemizing the business, time management, goal setting, working towards ISO certification – justified the partnership with ActionCOACH,” Deokie said. The private school Director is now the owner of an academy that boasts four locations including the first (digitized) SMART school on the West Coast of Demerara. She is now more confident than ever that Camille Academy will have a key role in offering training and educational opportunities as Guyana’s oil and gas industry booms. Much like Camille’s Academy, ActionCOACH boasts thousands of individuals who have been directly impacted by its services, resulting in clarity and growth. According to its website, through its business coaching, chief executive officers (CEOs), managers and those in leadership positions can get the freedom and lifestyle they sought when they first went into business for themselves. Dr. Doerga said that ACI is focused on becoming the Caribbean’s solution to professional and organizational growth through our action-oriented team delivering targeted business development services to entrepreneurial individuals and organizations. “We also pursued an international joint venture in 2018 thereby establishing NSBOmega Guyana, a global technical staffing and recruiting company which now serves the major operator and dozens of other medium and large companies operating here,” he added. WHO’S WHO Apart from building a legacy with his ActionCOACH team, Dr. Doerga has had a chief role in helping to develop and promote several other ventures which provide skills training and other entrepreneurial opportunities. One of which includes the HerVenture mobile learning app which provides free on-the-go training to help female entrepreneurs in Guyana grow their businesses. The app which was founded and developed by the UK- based Cherie Blair Foundation, launched in Guyana last September and has already surpassed its target of serving 3000 Guyanese women in business. `Another one of Dr. Doerga’s initiatives is the publication of the Who’s Who in Business Directory—a first of its kind in Guyana--- which offers local and international investors a glimpse of what Guyanese businesses have to offer, opening the door for their potential partnerships, growth, and expansion. The third edition of the Who’s Who in Business Directory was launched last November. The 138-page magazine features over 100 businesses from 14 key sectors and has over 10,000 hard copies which will be distributed as well as an online platform www.whoswho.gy, where featured businesses showcase their products and services. He said the idea is one way of promoting local content. “The idea for this came about in 2017 when we were looking for ways to tell the story of the business. I remember seeing the Who’s Who in Trinidad publication when I worked in Trinidad and really liked the concept… So we brought the franchise to ensure Guyanese businesses have a database and platform to be easily found in a more professional way,” he explained. While is constantly exploring ways to grow business in Guyana, the development specialist also seeks to share his knowledge with the next generation of potential entrepreneurs and professionals. To this end, Dr. Doerga and his ACI team have dedicated time and resources to supporting 'The Youth In Entrepreneurship,' a global youth entrepreneurship cause, by training kids, youth entrepreneurs at no cost. He said: “We have also been delivering free monthly business training sessions on the third Friday of every month for the past seven years and have trained thousands of interested business persons over that time.” When he is not working or focusing on his projects, Dr. Doerga enjoys investing quality time with family. He shared “I love going to dinner and different places with my family as we are working on building an environment that will cause us to optimally enjoy our short journey on this planet. I also enjoy playing a game of pool, basketball, or tennis.”