English

INFORMS
n°32 - ApRIL 2012
AL-INVEST IV - EUROCHAMBRES - Avenue des Arts, 19 A/D - B-1000 Brussels - [email protected] CONTENTS
Editorial
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Business Clusters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Business Clusters:
Union Makes Power
América Central, México y Cuba
Honduras: Phytosanitary Vigilance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Mexico: Jalisco Debuts in the World
of Business Associations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Source: RA
Mexico: Italian Heritage to
Understand Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Record Figures for the Andean Region . . . . . . . . . 3
Success Case: ‘ULA-ULA KIDS’, Children’s
Tailoring (Colombia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Mercosur, Chile and Venezuela
Interview to…
Divis Delaide Arellano (Getsemaní Hotel
Cluster). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Activities
More Sustainable Business Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Ties between Latin America, the EU,
and Eastern and Central Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Experience Is the Best School. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
NEXO: The Perfect Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Argentina Presents on Business
Opportunities in Colombia and Peru . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
‘Green Intelligence’ in Hannover Messe. . . . . . . . 6
Argentina Squeezes CeBIT 2012
to the Maximum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Brussels Talks about…
The Eurochamber Approaches
the Andean Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Coming Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Contact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Support to the SMEs’
‘United we succeed’; a sentence behind great
leaps in the progress of mankind in multiple
fields, is also true for business associations,
specially applicable to SMEs.
The Andean Region Consortium of the
AL-INVEST IV program has started to develop
a methodology by which business people
from the same industry are brought together
to identify their common problems. Then, led
by an advisor, they agree on specific actions
which in turn produce advantageous solutions for the entire group.
On this point, it is necessary to highlight the
synergy that Andean institutions partnered
to this program have reached with the European body Sequa GmbH (Bonn, Germany),
also linked to AL-INVEST IV. A group of experts
from Sequa offers support to promote continuous improvements in this advisory tool
for SMEs used internationally with very good
results.
Entrepreneurial skills, creativity and teamwork are some results of implementing this
participatory methodology. All these skills are
common to entrepreneurs pursuing their activities in the Andean Region.
internationalization in Latin America
AL-INVEST IV program has European Union funds
This publication has been made with the assistance of the Eu-
An example is the strength shown by the Andean Consortium groups, such as the groups
of tailors, food producers, artisans, music industry professionals and jewelers.
Each cluster has its own energy and feeds from
specific actions, which depict the business
culture of each group. Fairs, training sessions
and business missions, among other tools, are
the drivers that evidence these companies’
healthy eagerness to grow.
Andean Region
Chile: Thousands of Seeds Make Up
a Huge Mountain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
www.al-invest4.eu
Special Issue on Business
Associations and Unions
Special Issue on Business
Associations and Unions
El Salvador: Exporting Is the Name
of the Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Business clusters consolidate the business
framework, spreading through to all aspects.
Since 2009, business clusters have been reinforced by the AL-INVEST IV program, led in the
Andean Region Consortium by the Chamber
of Industry, Commerce, Services and Tourism
of Santa Cruz (CAINCO by its Spanish acronym), Bolivia. A total of 18 unions in Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador and Peru have started up
working with this methodology. They all have
a common goal, which is for companies in the
business clusters to consolidate all their objectives.
They are all already at work creating their own
identity, reflected not only by a logo to launch
common brands, but also by an organizational
structure enabling them to reach goals that
otherwise would be much more costly, workwise and investment-wise.
Undoubtedly, business clusters have become
essential business mechanisms in the Andean
Region. The ingredients to this recipe are the
eagerness to grow, the combination of efforts,
the strategic vision and the platform offered by
Andean business institutions as well as Sequa.
Chamber of Industry, Commerce, Services and
Tourism of Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
(Leader of the Andean Consortium of the
AL-INVEST IV program)
ropean Union. The sole responsibility for its content lies with
AL-INVEST IV and in no case shall it be deemed to reflect the
EU point of view.
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Special Issue on Business Associations and Unions
Central America, Mexico and Cuba
The Central American, Mexican and Cuban Consortium has listened carefully to the possibilities opened up by business associations. Be it in El Salvador, Honduras or Mexico, or in the ICT, health or tailoring industries, many SMEs
are profiting from this technique thanks to the support of AL-INVEST IV.
HONDURAS
Phytosanitary Vigilance Is Key for Honduras
Honduras hosted in 2011 a melon congress delving into the scourge of
increasing plagues, which affects producers and exporters of melon, watermelon and vegetables in the regions of Comayagua and Choluteca.
The conclusion reached at this event was that the best solution would
be to train official phytosanitary inspectors. For this, the National Service of Agricultural Health (SENASA by its Spanish acronym), the International Regional Organization of Agricultural Health (OIRSA by its Spanish
acronym) and the Federation of Agro-Exporters of Honduras (FPX by its
Spanish acronym) set as a first step founding regional bodies to provide
the appropriate support and properly watch over phytosanitary quality
systems for the various crops and regions.
After several meetings, they put together the Phytosanitary Vigilance
Committee of Comayagua and Choluteca, which is defining the strategy
to follow in this field for 2012.
Meeting to establish the Phytosanitary Vigilance Committee of Choluteca
Source: MCV
Contact: Medardo Galindo Mayorga [email protected]
EL SALVADOR
Business Associations Aiming at Exporting
The Association of Exporters of El Salvador (COEXPORT by its Spanish
acronym), in the framework of the AL-INVEST IV program, carries out
business association projects to support companies in their internationalization process in four sectors: agro-food, crafts, Information
and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Services. Proof of that
is the training received by ten institutions on the concept of exports
consortium, understood as a key technique in the process of opening
SMEs to new horizons. An expert in the field met with Grupo Tazumal,
a consortium focused on new technologies, to put together a business plan.
The ‘Alianza Exportadora’ association, specialized in agro-food and
crafts, participated in this meeting as well, where the internal rules were
drafted.
Besides, several business people from COEXPORT took part in a fourmonth training program to learn the necessary tools to identify market
niches and create mechanisms to access them. They also learnt about
the best processes and requirements to export. It is starting to yield results, and ‘Alianza Exportadora’ has billed $30,000 in exports of roasted
coffee and $40,000 in handcrafted urns.
Contact: Rosybel Figueroa [email protected]
For more information: www.coexport.com.sv
MEXICO
Jalisco Debuts in the World of Business Associations
The CAMC Consortium is working at full capacity to put together a
fashion consortium in the Mexican State of Jalisco. In order to do so, it
offers many training and technical assistance sessions in the subsectors of tailoring, leather goods, shoe wear and jewelry.
The group of companies is currently being registered as a civil society.
They will receive specific training on corporate image matters and
e-business, among other issues, to then develop a business mission
to a European fair.
Contacts: Nicola Minervini [email protected]
Angélica Espina [email protected]
The expert Nicola Minervini and the company Calzado Galante S.A. during a technical
assistance session Source: CAMC
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Special Issue on Business Associations and Unions
MEXICO
Italian Heritage to Understand Exports
FEDEREXPORT PIEMONTE. The exports consortiums were the main
subject.
As Pérez García puts it, “one key to the success of CAMC SMEs in the
EU and other markets might be creating exports consortia to reduce
costs, be more competitive and increase opportunities in their internationalization process”.
Alejandra J. Pérez García sharing the experience learnt during the exchange
Source: CAMC
The CAMC Consortium of the AL-INVEST IV program wants to learn
from Europe to improve competitiveness and the internationalization process of SMEs. To do so, Alejandra J. Pérez García, Project
Manager at the Eurocenter NAFIN in Mexico, exchanged experiences with Dr. Giuseppe Monforte, President of the Italian body
According to her, “the size of SMEs (6 permanent employees on average), the international competition they face, the lack of knowledge
of foreign markets and the lack of outside funding” may be the weaknesses stopping these companies from “executing by themselves
promotion strategies to tap into international markets”. The theory
is well known, and now it is time for Mexican SMEs to put it to use.
Contacts: Alejandra J. Pérez [email protected]
Giuseppe Monforte [email protected]
Andean Region
The Andean Region is a pioneer in the concept of business clusters, a type of association of SMEs belonging to
the same industry through which business management problems common to all of them are solved. The Consortium has gone above and beyond the goals set, having created more than 240 groups from which more than
4,000 companies may benefit, two of the initial goals committed with the European Commission.
Record Figures for the Andean Region
The business cluster strategy has proven to be infallible for the
Andean Region Consortium, given the support provided to more
than 4,000 companies part of this type of industry organizations,
which have improved the competitiveness of SMEs substantially.
According to Simone Lheman, Project Manager at Sequa, “the methodology has been warmly welcomed and all institutions have seen
clusters as a tool to develop membership and approach small and
micro businesses”.
The Andean Region Consortium has been above the expectations
and has met and surpassed the goal of creating business clusters
by more than 100% it has created 270 groups in the four countries
members of the Consortium. The star sectors of these associations
are leather, shoe wear and leather goods, textile, metal, wood and
furniture, food and jewelry.
Contact: Simone Lehmann [email protected]
Success Case
‘ULA-ULA KIDS’ Children’s Tailoring (Colombia)
Thanks
to
the
support of the Chamber of Commerce of
Bucaramanga, in the
framework of the
AL-INVEST IV program, several businesspeople in the
children tailo-ring
industry created a
business cluster within the RA Consortium. The following step would
be to identify and prioritize the main concerns of companies and
putting together an action plan to tackle them.
Several empowering activities were organized, out of which are
noteworthy the market study of Spain, and the advisory services
to design common products and brands, which was done under
the brand ‘ULA-ULA KIDS’.
The previous work made it possible for businesspeople of this
cluster to attend twice the International Fair of Children and
Youth Fashion (FIMI by its Spanish acronym), which took place
in Valencia, Spain. In the first fair, in June 2011, they introduced
their Spring-Summer collection. Last January, the businesspeople
could display their creations for the Fall-Winter season. Their work
is starting to yield results and ‘ULA-ULA KIDS’ is currently preparing its first export package, thanks to the warm welcome its designs gathered at the FIMI Fair.
Contact: Sergio Mendoza [email protected]
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Special Issue on Business Associations and Unions
Mercosur, Chile and Venezuela
Business association is a key concept at the MCV Consortium. Eurochile has proven that by promoting the training of dozens of groups in the tourism and food industries. Training sessions and seminars completed the activity developed by this business foundation.
CHILE
Thousands of Seeds Make Up a Huge Mountain
The
business
foundation Eurochile, in the
framework of
the AL-INVEST
IV program, promotes business
associations
as a core straCristian Lepe, President of Mifruta S.A, Christine Kossmann,
President of ChileTermas A.G, and José Ignacio Salafranca, Euro
tegy for interMP and President of the Euro-Latin America Parliamentary
nationalization,
Assembly Source: MCV
strengthening
local development and social cohesion. A total of 45 business groups in
the food and tourism industries have profited from Eurochile’s support.
To strengthen this concept further, the business foundation has
developed many activities, among others, training in three key
destinations in Chile (in the regions of Tarapacá and Los Lagos)
for companies specializing in thermal tourism, such as CHILE
TERMAS A.G.
Additionally, Eurochile is putting together an action plan to
associate. The result will be the new Business Union Association
for Tourism in Peñalolén. The final touch was the International
Seminar on Social Economics, which took place in Santiago de
Chile and welcomed representatives from the business and the
academia, as well as diplomats and Chilean public authorities
and members of cooperatives and business groups.
Contact: Ivonne Palma [email protected]
Interview to…
Divis Delaide Arellano,
Legal Representative of the Getsemaní Hotel Cluster, Colombia
What are the main characteristics of the Getsemaní Hotel Cluster?
Our business association gathers some ten to twelve companies. We
are small hotels focused on the same sector. Our association’s main
tool is teamwork.
How did the idea of an association of this type arise?
The main reason was the call through the Chamber of Commerce of
Cartagena de Indias, which proposed a collaborative project to companies in the hotel industry. After that, we became part of the AL-INVEST
IV program.
What was your business situation before becoming part of the
cluster and what is it now? What advantages have you drawn
from associating?
First our company was based in a simplified regime. We started
growing gradually, until we became a standard regime company.
The profits drawn from that are an improvement in business organization and our internationalization prospects.
What are the next steps the Getsemaní Hotel Cluster would like
to take?
Our objectives are to continue working and fulfill every step of our
plan for 2012.
Activities
More Sustainable Business Models
The Coordination and Services Consortium of the AL-INVEST IV program has opened the first call to apply to the training course ‘Institutional Strategic Planning Tools for Business Organizations’. The
deadline to apply to the training is May 2. The target audience are
executives from Latin American business organizations members of
AL-INVEST IV. The course will be taught by experts in executive training and specialized speakers from Latin American business organizations.
The training seeks to contribute to the development of skills in the
program’s intermediary organizations, to provide the best support
there is to their SMEs while strengthening a sustainable business
model. The course will have an online module, starting on May 15
and lasting 11 weeks, followed by an onsite workshop, which will
last four days and will take place in a Latin American country, still to
be determined.
Contact: Renaud Guillonnet [email protected]
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Activities
Ties between Latin America,
the EU, and Eastern and Central Europe
May 15, Vienna, Austria
The Coordination and Services Consortium of the AL-INVEST IV
program, in collaboration with the Federal Chamber of Economics
of Austria and the European Enterprise Network, organizes on May
15 a bilateral meeting, also known as B2B, between business organizations in Latin America, the EU and Central and Eastern Europe. Chambers of commerce, financial institutions, trade and
investment agencies and professional associations members of
AL-INVEST IV will be the stakeholders representing Latin America.
The meeting ‘Building Bridges through Trade and Investments’
will be the framework for the meetings. This event, where the four
stakeholders are once again the main characters, will take place in
Vienna between May 14 and 18, under the guidelines of the Federal Chamber of Economy of Austria, EUROCHAMBRES, the InterAmerican Development Bank (IADB) and the Chamber of Industry
and Trade of Germany (DIHK by its German acronym).
Contacts: Renaud Guillonnet [email protected]
Simona Obreja [email protected]
For more information: www.b2match.eu/lameetscee
Experience Is the Best School
Open Call for Individual Exchanges
The Coordination and Services Consortium of the AL-INVEST IV program has opened the application period for the individual exchange
program.
This activity is an immersion for Latin American program partners
into a European or Latin American institution, such as a chamber
of commerce and industry, an industrial association, foreign trade
bodies and development agencies and other non-for-profit organizations.
The program contributes to the professionalization of Latin American business bodies through a very simple recipe: Exchanging best
practices and transferring know-how with counterparty institutions
in both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Contact: Irene Haddad [email protected]
For more information: https://gc21.giz.de/ibt/GC21/area=module/main/
es/usr/modules/gc21/ws-alinvest/info/ibt/portal_intercambios.sxhtml
NEXO: The Perfect Link
port on events organized by the program and their users will have
access to a private portal where they may find counterparties in the
data bases, choose organizations of their interest, participate in fora
and advertisements and receive info from the program and its activities.
The platform will be an opportunity to network, allowing users to
stay in touch.
The Services and Coordination Consortium launched the platform
NEXO.
As the very name states, this online service is a link between European and Latin American institutions of the AL-INVEST IV program.
NEXO will provide greater visibility to the activities undertaken, re-
For more information: https://gc21.giz.de/ibt/GC21/area=module/
main/es/usr/modules/gc21/ws-alinvest/info/ibt/index.sxhtml
Contacts: Renaud Guillonnet [email protected]
Bastien Hualpa [email protected]
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Activities
Argentina Presents on Business Opportunities in Colombia and Peru
March 27, Argentina
The facilities of the Association of Metallurgical Industrialists of the
Argentine Republic (ADIMRA by its Spanish acronym) hosted last
March 27 the presentation of a study on the business opportunities
in the equipment sector within the gas and oil industries in Colombia
and Peru. No less than 80 supplying companies attended the event.
The Argentine Industrial Union (UIA by its Spanish acronym) and the
ExportAr Foundation, partnered with the AL-INVEST IV program, led
the study, which is 420 pages long. After the executive presentation
of the project, the attendants asked questions to the ‘Fundación Empresarial de la Patagonia’, the body in charge of the field study.
Study presentation event
Source: MCV
For more information: www.uia.org.ar
Green Intelligence in Hannover Messe
April 23-27, Hannover, Germany
The AL-INVEST IV program was present at the Hannover Messe fair, the
most important technology event worldwide. The 75 companies part of
the delegation profited from all the advantages offered by this showcase
of cutting-edge innovations, where trends and solutions for sustainable industrial production focused on green intelligence were presented this year.
Brazil, Uruguay and México were the Latin American countries with the largest delegations.
In addition, AL-INVEST IV has contributed to organizing two bilateral
meetings known as B2B. Undertaken in collaboration with the European
Enterprise Network (EEN), the meetings took place in the framework of two
different events; ‘Technology Cooperation Days’, on energy efficiency, and
B2Fair Matchmaking.
Contact: Corinne Saintilan [email protected]
Argentine Software, among the Best Worldwide
March 6-10, Hannover, Germany
Thanks to the action of the AL-INVEST IV program, a delegation of
Argentine companies was present at the 2012 edition of the most
important fair in the ICT sector, CeBIT. A total of 4,200 companies
from 70 countries participated in this year’s edition. As far as visitors
go, 340,000 people approximately linked to the world of ICTs profited
from the opportunities, products and services offered by this international showcase.
The mission from Argentina, coordinated by the Argentine Industrial
Union (UIA by its Spanish acronym) and the ExportAr Foundation,
enabled their SMEs to participate in a hundred business rounds with
international companies, carry out visits and attend technical seminars taught by very relevant corporate and public representatives
from leading institutions in the field.
Visit from Victorio Taccetti, Argentine Ambassador to Germany, and Cristian Breitenstein, Production Minister of the Buenos Aires region, to the Argentine companies at CeBIT
2012. Source: MCV
Contact: Bruno Misisca [email protected]
6
Brussels Talks about…
The Eurochamber Approaches the Andean Community
Five Euro MPs from the Delegation for Relations with the Andean Region
visited Ecuador in the beginning of April to approach conversations regarding the Trade Agreement between Ecuador and the EU. The MPs met
with President Rafael Correa and Ricardo Patiño, Foreign Affairs Minister.
At the end of March, the Ecuadorian heads of Foreign Policy and Trade
visited Brussels to further conversations. This Andean country wants an
agreement with the EU respectful of its economic development model.
Both regions agree on most points, but Quito disagrees on tariff issues
and stresses the point that they want more than a trade agreement, a
full political dialogue, taking into account cooperation. The Euro MP
Luis de Grandes Pascual, chairing the delegation, assured the EU fully
respects the position of Ecuador.
Ricardo Patiño, Foreign Affairs Minister of Ecuador, talking to Karel de Gucht,
European Commissioner for Trade in a meeting in Brussels.
Source: European Commission
Coming Up
Events
Training: How Can We Export To Europe? Mexico City
May 8, 2012 - May 11, 2012 (CS)
B2B Meeting between the EU, Central Europe and Eastern Europe
and Latin America. Vienna. May 15, 2012 (CS)
Contact
For more information visit our website
www.al-invest4.eu,
or Check our Facebook profile
AL-INVEST IV Consorcio de Servicios
BITS Porto Alegre. Brazil.
May15, 2012 – May 17, 2012 (CS, FIERGS, CNI)
EU-LAC Seminar. Brussels.
June 26 2012 (CS)
SIAL Sao Paulo. Brazil.
June 25, 2012 - June 28, 2012 (CS)
@ALINVESTIVCS
ALINVEST4CS
Contact:
[email protected]
Share your comments!
More events: http://www.al-invest4.eu/calendario/656
Leading editors:
Paolo Baldan, Director of the Coordination team
Simona Obreja, Communication Expert
AL-INVEST IV - EUROCHAMBRES- Avenue des Arts, 19 A/D - B-1000 Brussels .
[email protected]
“The AL-INVEST IV program is one of the most relevant regional economic
cooperation programs of the European Commission in Latin America. The
main goal of the IVth phase of the program is to promote social cohesion
by supporting Latin American SMEs in their consolidation and internationalization, sharing innovation and knowledge and creating economic relations with their European counterparts “.
Publications
Report “Foreign Direct Investment and SMEs”:
http://www.al-invest4.eu/attachments/Informe%20Final%20Seminario%20IED%20&%20pymes,%20Chile,%20dic.2011.pdf
Final Report on “Corporate Responsibility as a Factor in SME Competitiveness”:
http://www.al-invest4.eu/attachments/Informe%20Responsabilidad%20
Social%20Empresarial.pdf
Industrial Analysis “Renewable Energies” now in Portuguese as well:
http://www.al-invest4.eu/minisite/renovables_port/europa/europa1.html
AL-INVEST IV - EUROCHAMBRES - Avenue des Arts, 19 A/D - B-1000 Brussels - [email protected]
A Newsletter published by Prestomedia - N° 32
www.al-invest4.eu
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