Trade Watch V8 No 4 Jul-Aug 2013

Tradewatch TRADE & EXPORT DEVELOPMENT

Workshop on Internalization and Promotion of Caribbean SME Consortiums

From left: (at podium) Mr. Escipion Oliveira, Deputy Executive Director, Caribbean Export, (head table) 1. Mrs. Florence Van Houtte, Chief of the Trade Section, Support to the Private Sector and Regional Integration of the European Union Delegation in the Dominican Republic, 2. Mr. Antonio Vargas, National Authority of the European Development Funds in the Dominican Republic (DIGECOOM), 3. Mr. Jean Alain Rodriguez, Executive Director of the Center of Export and Investment of the Dominican Republic, 4. Lynette Holder, Chief Executive Officer, Small Business Association (SBA), Barbados, 5. Mr. Antonio Leone, Coordinator of the SELA-SMEs Programme

Caribbean Export in cooperation with the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) held the “Workshop on Internalization and Promotion of Caribbean SMEs Consortiums” in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on July 8-9, 2013. This activity was also co-organized with the Small Business Association of Barbados (SBA) and the Center for Exports and Investments of the Dominican Republic (CEI-RD). The objective of this event was the promotion of strategies for productive development, the creation of export consortium’s and the internationalization of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) for their foray into regional and international markets. The workshop also aimed to stimulate the exchange of goods and services among Latin American and Caribbean countries in order to strengthen the productive integration of the region and promote the participation of SMEs in trade fairs and business events. The opening session of the event included the participation of Mr. Antonio Vargas, National Authority of the European

Development Funds in the Dominican Republic (DIGECOOM), Mr. Jean Alain Rodriguez, Executive Director of CEI-RD, Mrs. Florence Van Houtte, Chief of the Trade Section, Support to the Private Sector and Regional Integration of the European Union Delegation in the Dominican Republic and Mr. Antonio Leone, Coordinator of the SELA-SMEs Programme. Participants of the Workshop included the representatives of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Barbados, the Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago; and the intervention of experts from the Caribbean Association of SMEs (CASME), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade (ICEX), the United Nations for the Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Secretariat of Economy of Mexico and the National Commission for SMEs of El Salvador (CONAMYPE).

6 Tradewatch • The Official E-Newsletter of the Caribbean Export Development Agency • Vol. 7 No. 4 July-August, 2013