Other events around world mark Global Entrepreneurship Week
Geneva, 21 November 2008 - SAO PAULO -- Graduates of UNCTAD´s Empretec programme -- which trains and encourages entrepreneurs in developing countries -- met here from 20-22 November to discuss the challenges of starting and nourishing small- and medium-sized businesses, to make contacts and share opportunities, and to inspire and engage a new generation to establish small private firms and create jobs.
The Eighth International Meeting of Entrepreneurs was hosted by SEBRAE, the Brazilian Service of Support for Micro and Small Enterprises, which has helped administer the Empretec programme in Brazil since 1990 and has so far trained 116,000 of the nation´s small-business founders.
One topic of discussion was surviving the widening global economic downturn. Paulo Okamoto, Director of SEBRAE, said in opening the meeting that "thanks to Empretec training, small companies in Brazil can face the international financial crisis and credit crunch because they have built trust and partnerships."
It was noted that long-term viability is a challenge even in the best of times: while small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the Brazilian economy, and Sao Paulo alone has 40,000 enterprises run by Empretec graduates, 56% of Brazilian SMEs do not survive more than five years. Empretec training does seem to help. The failure rate for Empretec firms in Brazil over five years is 10%.
Nazha Benabbes Taarji-Aschenbrenner of the UNCTAD Enterprise Development Branch told the gathering that entrepreneurs share common values and create a sense of practical optimism: going into business is a feasible and effective way for escaping poverty. This is true not only in Brazil, she said, but in other countries where Empretec operates. For example, the Empretec centre in Ghana has helped to create 3,500 new jobs over the past three years.
The São Paulo conference occurs during Global Entrepreneurship Week. Some 70 countries around the world are staging events, such as games, networking, partnerships, awards, and special initiatives, some targeting youth, to draw attention to the importance of entrepreneurship.
At the same time as the International Entrepreneurs Meeting, Empretec directors from 22 countries gathered to discuss Empretec activities, to plan expansion of training, and to consider new strategic directions for the programme. Directors attended from Argentina, Benin, Botswana, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Jordan, Mozambique, Mauritius, Nigeria, Paraguay, Romania, Senegal, Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.
UNCTAD currently supports 27 Empretec country programmes in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and Eastern Europe.
