Bogotá, Colombia. November  21 to 22, 2019 . Building Museo del Parque, Calle 28 # 13 A-24, floor 7, Auditorium 1 &2.

Multiple small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) emerge in Latin America and the Caribbean year after year. Currently, 99% of SMEs are the employers of 47% of the labour force in the region. These companies represent 90% of the regional business fabric, accounting for 28% of the GDP. Sadly, many SMEs cease to exist, and only 45% survives after a couple of years. The luckiest ones come to a standstill after four years. Such situation is due to traditional limitations to the development of SMEs which include, among others: i) severe troubles to access financing sources; ii) poor training of staff, and iii) lack of access to technology.

Small and medium-sized enterprises that manage to overcome these hurdles still face a somewhat unsurmountable challenge, that is, to display their export potential and become competitive enough to find a niche in international markets, as the only assurance to grow beyond domestic borders. In other words, they are required to turn into exporting small and medium-sized enterprises (EXSMEs[1]). To that end, they need to fit into regional and global value chains (GVC).

The internationalization of SMEs is a key component to spur production diversification, which is pivotal for the economic progress of countries. As for Latin America and the Caribbean, development ought to be rather balanced, provided that the region counts on a diversified export sector through the significant involvement of SMEs. Such is one of the most important challenges in the region, and therefore an appropriate set of regulations is of the essence to lever the internationalization process of SMEs and thus strengthen their export capacity.

In 2019, the Permanent Secretariat, under the SELA-SMEs Programme, prepares to hold the “Seminar: Prospects for internationalization of SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean,” which aims to review and scan a visible horizon for SMEs regarding their internationalization and export possibilities, and bring forward proposals for a better positioning of small and medium-sized enterprises in the global markets.