IIC Launches FINPYME ExportPlus in Guatemala

Guatemala City, Guatemala - The Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), with support from the government of Italy, held a seminar to launch its FINPYME ExportPlus program.

Present at the event were Economy Minister Rubén Morales, the Comité Coordinador de Asociaciones Agrícolas Comerciales Industriales y Financieras (CACIF), and the IDB. The FINPYME ExportPlus program seeks to enhance the ability of small and medium-size companies to access the export markets.

The pilot project will provide SMEs with direct technical assistance that will yield specific benefits and concrete results; it includes a market study and the selection of companies in strategic sectors that can benefit from the program.

Aid for Trade is an initiative launched in 2006 by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in order to help developing countries strengthen their ability to operate in the international market, improving their trade promotion programs. The WTO is working with the IDB to disseminate information on the initiative. With FINPYME ExportPlus, the IIC, as a member of the IDB Group, seeks to support SME internationalization and complement IDB programs related to the WTO initiative.

The results of this project will help define the scope of the initiative in the medium term and its potential for expansion to other countries in the region. Among the strategic partners working on the initiative are the Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce, Agexport, CACIF, Citibank Guatemala, Grupo Financiero de Occidente, Cámara del Agro de Guatemala, and Universidad Rafael Landívar.

According to Antonello Bove, who is in charge of the project at the IIC, “FINPYME ExportPlus is an excellent opportunity for Guatemalan SMEs to receive technical assistance, improving their access to export markets for their products. It will add value to the private sector, creating a mechanism for capacity building in the area of technologies, knowledge, and certification.”

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