7.1
Earthquake
Hits Honduras; Two Killed
El
Salvador Groups Back Cuba
IIC Launches
FINPYME ExportPlus in Guatemala
Panama Canal Joins with Port Manatee
IIC Launches
FINPYME ExportPlus in Guatemala
Guatemala City, Guatemala - The
Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC),
with support from the government of Italy,
held a seminar to launch its FINPYME
ExportPlus program.
Present at the event were Economy Minister
Rubén Morales, the Comité Coordinador de
Asociaciones Agrícolas Comerciales
Industriales y Financieras (CACIF), and the
IDB. The FINPYME ExportPlus program seeks to
enhance the ability of small and medium-size
companies to access the export markets.
The pilot project will provide SMEs with
direct technical assistance that will yield
specific benefits and concrete results; it
includes a market study and the selection of
companies in strategic sectors that can
benefit from the program.
Aid for Trade is an initiative launched in
2006 by the World Trade Organization (WTO)
in order to help developing countries
strengthen their ability to operate in the
international market, improving their trade
promotion programs. The WTO is working with
the IDB to disseminate information on the
initiative. With FINPYME ExportPlus, the IIC,
as a member of the IDB Group, seeks to
support SME internationalization and
complement IDB programs related to the WTO
initiative.
The results of this project will help define
the scope of the initiative in the medium
term and its potential for expansion to
other countries in the region. Among the
strategic partners working on the initiative
are the Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce,
Agexport, CACIF, Citibank Guatemala, Grupo
Financiero de Occidente, Cámara del Agro de
Guatemala, and Universidad Rafael Landívar.
According to Antonello Bove, who is in
charge of the project at the IIC, “FINPYME
ExportPlus is an excellent opportunity for
Guatemalan SMEs to receive technical
assistance, improving their access to export
markets for their products. It will add
value to the private sector, creating a
mechanism for capacity building in the area
of technologies, knowledge, and
certification.”
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