San José, Costa Rica. September  03 to 04, 2015 . Auditorium of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade (MEIC). San José, Costa Rica - Sabana Sur, 400 meters west of the Building of the Comptroller General of the Republic, former venue for ARESEP – now Edificio MEIC.

The Permanent Secretariat has been involved in the conduction of the Ibero-American Forums of Guarantee and Financing Systems for SMEs on a yearly basis and in the discussion of this issue among the Member States of SELA, with the aim of promoting the creation of financial mechanisms to ensure swift access to credit for SMEs, especially in Central America and the Caribbean.

In this context, the Permanent Secretariat organized and conducted the “Seminar-Workshop on Guarantee Systems in Central America” in 2013, with support of the Development Bank of El Salvador (BANDESAL), in San Salvador. This event was aimed at financial and business institutions in the region. As for the Caribbean, the “Programme for the creation of a Guarantee System for the Caribbean” was carried out in Georgetown, Guyana, in 2014. This activity was supported by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

For 2015, the Permanent Secretariat is expected to conduct two Seminars on Guarantee Systems in Costa Rica and Jamaica, in order to continue making strides towards the creation of regional guarantee mechanisms to ensure access to credit for SMEs, both in Central America and the Caribbean.