The Orange Economy & the Commercial Rule of Law

The orange economy is the economic buzz term for 2026. First introduced into the social lexicon in November 2025, there have been almost monthly news articles or opinions of the topic. We would like to consider an aspect that is cloaked in anonymity. The struggle to access digital creative tools and payments methods for merchant purposes in Guyana and how the commercial rule of law ties into these issues.

When the rule of law is spoken of in Guyana, politicians use the term to describe a political or governance issue. However, there is another more important and more subtle application – the commercial rule of law. This encompasses how international businesses choose to allow or withhold access to Guyanese to their online platforms and tools based on their assessment of the application of Guyana’s laws that protect commercial ventures.

 Let’s consider some specific examples. The most common is being able to access merchant accounts on foreign payment platforms like PayPal. Even creative tools like Adobe are only in reach for those with foreign credit cards and addresses. The reason for this is that the commercial rule of law is not recognized or is not considered being present in Guyana, carrying significant compliance risk. This makes some financial tools and services out of our reach. International businesses do not view Guyana’s laws as adequate on the issue of copyright, as such companies view allowing Guyanese citizens access to their creative works as too much of a risk.

The only way Guyanese creatives will be able to do business in the orange economy is if commercial rule of law is enforced and seen to be enforced and monitored.

This has been an issue that has affected Guyanese significantly for decades. The current practical implications are that for most accessing the economic part of the orange economy will remain just out of reach.