DINAMICA Initiative holds Startup Weekend Tegucigalpa 2017

Tegucigalpa, August 11, 2017- . The central theme of Startup Weekend 2017 was “How to create a company in 54 hours?” The event was held thanks to the support of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), which is the executing entity of the Initiative for the Development of Business Ideas and Acceleration of Central American MSMEs (DINAMICA Initiative).

At the event, participants will integrate their teams, propose new ideas, choose the most popular idea and work non-stop with the help of professional mentors and experts in the areas of business, technology and design in order create their dream company.

Startup Weekend was founded in 2007 in Boulder, Colorado by Andrew Hyde; it has become one of the largest entrepreneurial communities in the world. To date, it has conducted more than 3,000 events in more than 150 countries, making it one of the most renowned global celebration of entrepreneurship.

The event has support from the DINAMICA Initiative, which is a tripartite initiative of CABEI as executing entity, the Government of Germany through its KfW Development Bank and the European Union as part of its Latin American Investment Facility (LAIF). Its main objective is to strengthen the MSME business ecosystem, especially for new, young and/or innovative MSMEs. This approach also includes strengthening the financial sector at a regional level to promote adequate access to financial services for these MSMEs.

In order to achieve these objectives, the DINAMICA Initiative has (1) a EUR50 million in reimbursable resources from Germany through its KfW Development Bank and CABEI, which are channeled as loans to regional MSMEs through CABEI’s network of intermediary financial institutions. In addition, it has (2) a EUR3.8 million donation from the European Union for technical assistance and training of the Dynamic Business Development Centers, MSMEs affiliated to these centers and CABEI’s network of intermediary financial institutions. The Initiative is executed in the following Central American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.

With this event, the DINAMICA Initiative joins efforts to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem and becomes a part of the select group of companies that provide support to Startup Weekend, including Google, Amazon, .CO, Vimeo and Appear.in and local-level organizations such as OAS, UNITEC and FICOHSA, among others.

At the event’s inauguration, CABEI Interim Country Manager for Honduras, Mr. Manuel Torres, stated that, "We invite male and female Honduran entrepreneurs to join this excellent Initiative in order to prepare the resources they deem necessary to develop their business ideas successfully, share knowledge and experiences, acquire new theoretical and practical tools and contribute to creating high-potential companies that could change our country and the world."