Conamype, Chancellery and Invest sign agreement to promote exporting MSMEs.

The agreement will strengthen cooperation between the institutions to promote the products and services of MSMEs abroad.

The National Commission of Micro and Small Enterprises (Conamype), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Investment and Export Promotion Agency of El Salvador (Invest in El Salvador) signed an inter-institutional agreement on Friday to support micro and small enterprises (mypes) with the export of their products and services, in the framework of the development of the National Forum ExportaSV.

Paul Steiner, president of Conamype, assured that the agreement is only a “formalization” of the cooperation between the entities, since since 2019 they have worked hand in hand to position the work of mypes in other countries. The forum functions as a platform for companies to learn about the services and facilities offered by the State.

For example, he mentioned that there are currently 39 trading houses in the consulates. The Foreign Ministry administers these spaces and Conamype coordinates the strategy for the promotion of products, while Invest in El Salvador facilitates the connection with international actors.

“We want to create a support infrastructure for micro and small businesses that want to export. With Invest we are extremely committed, we have a very strong work, as well as with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs […] A mype does not have an export department, it does not have a budget to visit all the fairs, but we promote its talent abroad,” he said.

Rodrigo Ayala, president of Invest in El Salvador, urged trade associations, international cooperation and businessmen to work hand in hand to promote the export sector. He assured that as an institution they will continue to seek alliances to strengthen the economy.

“With this agreement, the three institutions join together to help El Salvador’s economic growth, to position Salvadoran production in the world. The work is titanic and we cannot do it alone as institutions, we need alliances and we need the engine that are all these national producers. There are already international companies that have set their eyes on El Salvador, especially in those products that we can export, which means that there are opportunities,” he said.

Currently, 240 small and medium-sized companies receive export counseling from these entities. These companies contribute 1,009 products to El Salvador’s exportable supply in the food, beverages, textiles and apparel, food agribusiness, services, natural cosmetics, various manufactured goods, footwear, handicrafts, furniture and other sectors.

The MSMEs surveyed report that most of their exports are to Central American countries (43%), as well as the United States (40%), Europe (11%) and Mexico (6%).

Source: Diario El Salvador