SELA, INADEM AND PROMEXICO ORGANIZE “REGIONAL MEETING ON EXPORT CONSORTIUMS”

Caracas, October 2, 2015.- The Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), together with the National Institute of Entrepreneurs (INADEM) of the Secretariat of Economy of Mexico and PROMEXICO, the federal government agency in charge of coordinating strategies aimed at strengthening the participation of Mexico in the international economy, will hold the “Regional Meeting on Export Consortiums” on 5 and 6 October 2015 in Mexico City.

This regional meeting is aimed at government representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises of the Member States of SELA, representatives of SME business associations and experts in the field. At this meeting, participants are expected to analyze the progress made by such consortiums in different Latin American countries -whose policies in this area are more developed- and the achievements of consortiums presented by Caribbean countries in the year 2014.

Prior to the “Regional Meeting on Export Consortiums,” SELA organized in May 2014 the “Meeting on Export Consortiums for the Caribbean,” aimed exclusively at representatives of the Caribbean countries, with the support of the Regional Government of Piura and the Committee on Small Industry of Peru. On that occasion, participants visited export consortiums and shared techniques and processes with micro-entrepreneurs and artisans; in addition, several proposals were presented for the creation of export consortiums in the Caribbean.

In September 2014, SELA conducted in Mexico City the Seminar-Workshop on “Productive Coordination in Latin America,” with the collaboration of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the co-sponsorship of the National Institute for Entrepreneurs (INADEM) of the Secretariat of Economy of Mexico and PROMEXICO. In addition, SELA and the Ministry of Industry and Productivity of Ecuador organized the “II Regional Workshop on Development of Handicraft SMEs” in Quito, Ecuador. In these meetings, information was provided about the achievements made as regards the creation of consortiums in the handicraft sector in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.

The Permanent Secretariat of SELA has been working on the promotion and creation of export consortiums in countries of the region through the organization of regional workshops aimed at government officials and private organizations. In 2013, it conducted the “Workshop on Internationalization and Promotion of Caribbean SME Consortiums,” together with the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) and the Export and Investment Centre of the Dominican Republic (CEI-RD). In the same year, SELA organized the “Regional Workshop on Development of Handicraft SMEs,” in conjunction with Artesanías de Colombia of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism in Barranquilla, Colombia.