Across the region, small businesses are a key source of employment, growth, and income. Many of these businesses, however, lack the skills necessary to realize this potential and take advantage of newly liberalized markets.
Corporate Advice (CA) aims to improve the performance of small businesses by strengthening firm-level skills and sector-level relationships.
Specific program offerings include projects in the following areas:
- Sustainable Value Chains: Linking Micro, Small and Mediun Enterprises (MSMEs) to large firms by integrating and strengthening value chains to promote income generating activities.
- Business Edge: Providing MSMEs with access to customized management training to improve performance and help raise their productivity, profitability and competitiveness.
- SME Toolkit: Facilitating on-line learning and knowledge sharing of business management practices for MSMEs to enhance performance & facilitate access to markets and finance.
COUNTRY | PROJECT | DESCRIPTION |
Bolivia
|
| Broadening access to finance for small businesses in the wood sector by improving their efficiency and financial transparency.
|
Brazil
| Bertin Sustainable Supply Chain
| Supporting beef suppliers to meet a new sustainable development model in the Amazon region.
|
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua
|
| Strengthening the sustainable coffee supply chain and increasing international market access for over 8,000 producers.
|
Haiti
|
| A branded training program for SME managers. All trainings are adapted to meet local market needs and are given by licensed local training partners and certified trainers.
French version here
|
Mexico & Nicaragua
| | Developing and testing a carbon monitoring methodology for coffee farms that can be attached to existing certification schemes.
|
Nicaragua | | Strengthening the sustainable wood supply chain and increasing international market access for local timber producers and manufacturers.
|
Regional
|
| A web based tool which offers MSMEs free access to on-line learning of best business management practices; providing courses, business forms, news items and how-to articles.
(Regional site: www.spanish.smetoolkit.org)
|
Uruguay
| | Increasing the income for small milk producers in the Conaprole supply chain by improving milk productivity and quality.
|
