The first official meeting of the EMPRETEC Latin America Forum was hosted by EMPRETEC Panama in Panama City last week, following a regional training workshop that brought together EMPRETEC directors and trainers from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Peru and Venezuela to share experiences and discuss new developments.
Participants reviewed the Empretec + material for micro entrepreneurs with low literacy levels, and Brazil's recent experience in incorporating innovation into entrepreneurship training. They also worked to homogenize the EMPRETEC teaching material among the 14 centres currently active in the region.
EMPRETEC is a United Nations programme established by UNCTAD's Division of Investment and Enterprise to promote the creation of sustainable, innovative and internationally competitive small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The programme is implemented through national centres that have so far been established in 33 countries around the world.
The name EMPRETEC – the Spanish acronym for emprendedores(entrepreneurs) and tecnología (technology) – was first introduced in Argentina in 1988. Since its inception, the EMPRETEC programme has assisted more than 240,000 entrepreneurs through the local market-driven business support centres – helping to found or expand businesses, and creating thousands of jobs in the process.
Ms. Fiorina Mugione, Chief of the Entrepreneurship Section at UNCTAD, opened the Latin America Forum, highlighting UNCTAD's Entrepreneurship Policy Framework and its relevance for Latin America. Stakeholders attending the event included the Government of Panama represented by the Ministry for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, as well as the International Development Bank (IDB), the Latin American Development Bank (CAF) and several United Nations agencies. Among representatives from the private sector were large multinational companies such as Sab Miller and Nestlé, as well as a number of small and medium enterprises.
The highlight of the EMPRETEC Latin America Forum was a visit to the province of Coclé where the EMPRETEC directors had an opportunity to take part in a roundtable on local economic development. The Governor of the Province –that celebrated the 490 year of its foundation -- Mr. Fernando Nuñez Fabrega -- welcomed participants. He reviewed the infrastructure development plans in the province linked to tourism, explained his focus on working hand in hand with the private sector and shared the approach to niche rural tourism that the provincial government has embraced. Entrepreneurs from the region, including many beneficiaries from the MDG Joint Programme "Entrepreneurial Network Opportunities for Poor Families" which UNCTAD is a part of, showed up in great numbers - which made for a very lively and interactive dialogue. Participants discussed topics including rural tourism, associative forms of entrepreneurship and local value chains.
The event benefitted from the presence of high level Government officials including the Vice Minster of the Ministry for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Mr. Jorge Luis Gonzáles. The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy in Guatemala, Mr. Juan Carlos Velásquez, travelled to Panama specifically for the event and shared his country's vast experience in the handicraft sector and rural development linked to tourism. He also explained how Guatemalan handicrafts have been able to sell high-end items in the United States with modern marketing techniques including branding and special packaging.
The draft statutes of the EMPRETEC Latin America Forum will be presented for official adoption on the occasion of the Annual EMPRETEC Directors' Meeting which will be held in November in Geneva during the Commission on Investment and Enterprise taking place from 26-30 November.
Based on the success of the gathering in Panama City, EMPRETEC Guatemala, with the support of the Ministry of Economy, will review the opportunity to host the next regional training and meeting of the EMPRETEC Latin America Forum in 2013.
