MSME attention centers to meet in Honduras
The purpose of the Encounter is to provide a space for dialogue, formation and exchange of experiences among the operators of the MSME Attention Centers and their strategic partners.
Honduras, June 2016. - Honduras will be the site of the first Regional Encounter of MSME Attention Centers. The Centers’ directors and advisors, Central American and Dominican government authorities in charge of promoting micro and small and medium enterprises, international cooperation agencies and other sectors will discuss mechanisms for supporting MSMEs in the region.
The Regional Center for MSME Promotion (CENPROMYPE); the Central American Integration System (SICA); the Honduran Ministry for Economic Development (SDE); and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) are organizing this important regional event with support from the European Union in the framework of Honduras’ pro tempore SICA Presidency.
The purpose of the Encounter is to provide a space for dialogue, formation and exchange of experiences among the operators of the MSME Attention Centers and their strategic partners in order to strengthen their capacities for management and provision of business services that can contribute to the productive development of MSMEs.
The dialogue, training and interchange sessions will focus on such strategic axes as sustainability and management of MSME attention centers; strengthening MSME business services; creativity and innovation in development services for MSMEs; and institutional dialogue and network building.
The Regional Encounter is aimed at directors of the MSME Attention Centers, public officials involved in business development and financial services, universities, municipalities, NGOs, businesses in the social sector, professionals involved in business consulting and professionals interested in establishing business development services.
The countries’ integration with respect to MSME promotion efforts is having a positive impact on the region, with regional MSMEs attended by the Attention Centers reporting a US$28.6 million increase in sales according to the 2015 Report on MSME Attention Centers in Central America and the Dominican Republic.
In the particular case of Honduras, under the leadership of President Juan Orlando Hernández and the national program for MSME business development, there are 11 Centers operating in an alliance between the public and private sectors and academia; they are denominated Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Business Development Centers.
The regionalization of the MSME Attention Centers has been supported by the US State Department, the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Spanish International Cooperation Agency, the German GIZ Cooperation Program and its Facility program, the Republican of China (Taiwan), as well as the European Union, CABEI and the German KFW Development Bank. These regionalization efforts have fostered learning and innovation that permit the continuous improvement of the model by creating permanent spaces for regional interchange, such as this first Regional Encounter.
