CAF and ADEX promote internationalization of Peruvian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

(Lima, January 11, 2018) .- CAF - development bank of Latin America - signed a technical cooperation agreement with the Association of Exporters of Peru (ADEX) with the aim of promoting the internationalization of micro, small and medium enterprises (Mipymes) of 13 regions of the country.

This initiative is part of the commitment of both institutions to promote projects related to foreign trade, the internationalization of companies, the generation of business opportunities for national products and the identification of foreign investment opportunities in favor of the national business.

The impetus will be made through an extensive dissemination, implementation and monitoring of the Internationalization Support Program (PAI) that grants co-financing of non-reimbursable resources to companies, to carry out activities that contribute to the diversification of markets and the entry of products. and Peruvian services to other countries.

The execution of the aforementioned agreement will be linked to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR), which has been working on different programs, tools and instruments for the strengthening of the business sector.

The technical cooperation agreement was signed by Luis Carranza Ugarte, CEO of CAF, and Juan Varilias Velásquez, president of ADEX, at the headquarters of the multilateral financial entity in Lima.

MSMEs represent 99.6% of companies in Peru. In the export sector, 75% of the companies that export are MSMEs and the exported value only represents 5% of the sectors. Likewise, they generate around 7.7 million jobs, and contribute 21.6% of national production.

However, the probability that they grow sustainably, develop innovation or some improvement in productivity is very low; many times due to the lack of information and financial resources for the aforementioned issues, inadequate management, lack of qualified and trained personnel, as well as the low development of value-added products and few resources for commercial promotion; besides the difficulty to locate potential clients or commercial partners.

"With this agreement, CAF seeks to support activities that contribute to the economic diversification of Peru, but also stimulate productivity, innovation and business internationalization to increase exports of Peruvian products with added value to other markets, and thus ensure growth sustainable of the companies and the country ", expressed Carranza Ugarte.

For his part, Varilias Velásquez highlighted the joint work of his union and the CAF, to empower small businesses that are characterized as having a high impact on job creation. "It will improve their competitiveness and reduce their mortality rate," he said.

He said that according to 2016 ADEX statistics, of the 7,239 companies, 4,944 exported small amounts, representing 68% of the total. He also pointed out that microenterprises reduced their number by 4% (from 3,839 to 3,676), while the number of small businesses grew by 0.4% (from 1,263 to 1,268).