The Permanent Secretariat has been permanently involved in the region’s efforts to establish and consolidate guarantee systems through the yearly conduction of the Ibero-American Forums on Financing and Guarantee Systems for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, the Permanent Secretariat has introduced this topic to the member countries, which are starting to deal with it, in order to promote the creation of a financing mechanism 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 the support of the Development Bank of El Salvador (BANDESAL), in San Salvador. This event was aimed at financial and business institutions in the region, in order to gain knowledge about the subject and inform about the progress made as regards financing mechanisms for SMEs. As for the Caribbean region, the Permanent Secretariat organized in 2014 the activity “Programme for the creation of a Guarantee System for the Caribbean,” held in Georgetown, Guyana. This activity was supported by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

In 2015, the Permanent Secretariat is expected to conduct one (1) Seminar on Guarantee Systems in the Caribbean, in order to analyze the possibility of establishing a guarantee mechanism for SMEs in the Caribbean region.