UTSA International Trade Center conducts Peru consultation and training

Jamaica

Cathedral in Lima, Peru

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(March 22, 2013) -- The International Trade Center in The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Institute of Economic Development conducted a consultation March 18 in Líma, Peru, to set the stage for a four-part Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Counselor and Director Certificate Training. The consultation and training program will help Peru establish SBDCs that will support business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the country.

SBDCs, established throughout the United States by the federal government in partnership with state governments and universities and colleges, assist entrepreneurs and business owners in establishing and growing their businesses through a free and confidential suite of advising services. Services include, but are not limited to, feasibility studies, business strategy, financial planning, marketing, production and professional networking. The centers support new and existing businesses.

The one-day consultation on the forthcoming training included high-level small and medium enterprise (SME) stakeholders in Peru's public, private and academic sectors. Gladys Triveño Chan Jan, minister of production of Peru, and Michael J. Fitzpatrick, chargé d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy to the Republic of Peru, gave opening remarks. Melina Burgos, general director for production development in the Ministry of Production, delivered a presentation on existing SME assistance in Peru. Finally, International Trade Center Director Cliff Paredes and Senior International Business Consultant Monica Alcoz discussed the expansion of the U.S. SBDC model throughout Latin America and the implications for Peru.

The goal of the SBDC Counselor and Director Certificate Training is to transfer the SBDC model methodology and train professionals on how to manage and operate an economic impact-producing SBDC. The training is part of the International Trade Center and Institute for Economic Development International SBDC Expansion Initiative that, with the support of the U.S. Department of State, has helped countries develop United States-modeled SBDC networks in the Americas since 2003. Dates for the training will be set during the consultation.

"The work we are doing with the International SBDC Expansion Initiative dovetails perfectly with President Obama's Small Business Network of the Americas (SBNA) initiative and is helping to make that initiative a reality. Peru is a country that is poised to take advantage of this advanced training and to create economic impact domestically and internationally," said Paredes.

The consultation and training is sponsored by the U.S. Agency for Economic Development, Higher Education for Development and the U.S. Department of State Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas initiative in collaboration with the UTSA Institute for Economic Development.

The UTSA International Trade Center is one of the largest and most successful trade assistance organizations in Texas. It helps companies become globally competitive through technical trade consulting, customized market research and innovative training programs. The center is a specialty SBDC program in the South-West Texas Border SBDC Network. Follow it on Twitter (@TexasTrade) and like it on Facebook.

For more information, visit the SBDC Global website.

 

 

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