Past events

The Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) and the National Directorate for Crafts, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (DINAPYME) of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM) of the Republic of Uruguay held the Regional Meeting on Productive Transformation in the Digital Era: An opportunity for MSMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean on 29 and 30 April 2019, in Montevideo.  

The Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and CAF-development bank of Latin America, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism and the Ministry of Production of Peru, will conduct the “Presentation of the results of the Public Policy Index for MSMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean (IPPALC), as implemented by the Pacific Alliance, Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay”, in Lima, Peru, on 25 April 2019.  Final report Public Policy Index for MSMEs: Results for the Pacific Alliance, Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay The SME Policy Index is a benchmarking tool that assists emerging economies in monitoring and evaluating progress in policies that support small and medium-sized enterprises. This first application of the Index methodology in the Latin American and Caribbean region covers the four Pacific Alliance member countries (Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru) and three participating South American countries (Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay). Divided into seven policy dimensions, this report assesses the strengths and weaknesses that exist in different areas of SME policy design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation, and provides guidance to policy makers in identifying policy areas for future reform according to international good practices.This report is a joint effort between the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and the OECD through its Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Programme (LACRP), in co-operation with the “Foundation for the Strategic Analysis and Development of the SME” (FAEDPYME) and the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA).  

The Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) organized the XXX Meeting of International Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean: coordination and efficiency of international cooperation vis-à-vis the occurrence of natural disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean, jointly with the Government of the Republic of Panama, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Government and the Regional Logistics Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (CLRAH), and with the support of the World Food Programme (WFP). This event was held in Panama City, Panama, on 11 and 12 April 2019. This Meeting enabled the International Cooperation Directors of the Member States of SELA to exchange views and experiences on initiatives underway in the region to improve the coordination and efficiency of international cooperation and humanitarian assistance in cases of natural disasters, while gaining knowledge about the strengths and benefits offered by the Regional Logistics Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (CLRAH), recently opened in Panama City and considered the Humanitarian Hub for the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.

This workshop represents the first working activity prepared by the Permanent Secretariat within the framework of the Productive articulation programme for the strengthening and development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region, which is being carried out in collaboration with CAF-development bank of Latin America. In this programme, several activities have been organized with a view to facilitating tools for the determination of inclusive value chains that encourage the productive articulation and export capacity of companies, contribute to greater productivity and promote sustainable growth in the region. As part of this programme, one of its areas of action includes the development of a set of indicators to assess and monitor trade and the degree of interdependence of national and regional markets, while proposing the creation of a map of productive niches. In order to achieve this objective, the workshop aims to train participants in three main areas: (i) Conceptualization and characterization of the theory on productive transformation; (ii) core software training; and (iii) use and management of information and implementation of methodology.

The XXIX Meeting of International Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean  focused on the identification of the main opportunities and challenges posed by international cooperation, triangular cooperation and South-South Cooperation in strengthening trade infrastructure and on the presentation of the achievements made in the management of trade infrastructure through an evaluation of the status of execution of physical works and the use of information and communications technologies for the d, in order to make progress with efforts to achieve greater participation of the region in global value chains. This meeting aimed to create a space for synergy in the management of trade infrastructure with a view to reducing costs and timeframes in foreign trade logistics. The Meeting of International Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean has been a timely and suitable space to promote the analysis and treatment of issues of high priority on the international cooperation agenda from the Latin American and Caribbean perspective, as well as to serve as a meeting point for the exchange of successful experiences and best practices associated with the topic addressed. On this occasion, the topics were as follows:  Importance of trade infrastructure for economic development; Infrastructure as leverage for the development of regional value chains; Funding opportunities in the field of infrastructure by financial development institutions and international cooperation agencies; and Incentives for resource mobilization and harmonization of South-South Cooperation policies. The “XXIX Meeting of International Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean: Strengthening cooperation in commercial connectivity in Latin America and the Caribbean: Towards greater integration into value chains” was an initiative of the Permanent Secretariat of SELA, which counts on the support of the Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF) of the Group of 77 (G77) and the cooperation of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development of Dominican Republic, through the Directorate-General for Multilateral Cooperation (DIGECOOM).

This seminar was part of the Productive articulation programme for the strengthening and development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region, undertaken by the Permanent Secretariat of SELA with the support of the CAF-development bank of Latin America. In this event, various activities were organized to promote inclusive value chains that facilitate the productive articulation and export capacity of enterprises and encourage the increase in productivity and promotion of sustainable growth in the region. As part of this programme, one of its areas of action includes the development of a set of indicators to assess and monitor trade and the degree of interdependence of national and regional markets, while proposing the development of a map of productive niches. To achieve this goal, this seminar included four main topics: (i) productive transformation, value chains and their determination; (ii) public initiatives in the field of productive transformation for inclusion in value chains; (iii) opportunities for cooperation; and (iv) determining productive niches.

The sessions of the XLIII Regular Meeting of the Latin American Council of SELA will be held in Caracas, Venezuela, at the headquarters of the Permanent Secretariat, in Av. Francisco de Miranda, Torre Europa, Fifth Floor, Simón Bolívar Conference Room, Campo Alegre.  The Preparatory Stage will be held on 26 and 27 November and the Ministerial Stage will take place on 27 November after 15:00 and 28 November 2018.

SELA will hold the VII Meeting on Public-Private Partnerships for Disaster Risk Reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean: Building resilient infrastructures, jointly with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico (SRE), Cementos Mexicanos (CEMEX) and the Inter-American Conference on Social Security (CISS). This meeting will analyse regional best practices in terms of investment and efficient, sustainable and responsible construction, as well as the resilience of physical infrastructure (public and private buildings), particularly hospital and health services, educational and cultural facilities. It will also deal with the contribution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a resource to strengthen social resilience vis-à-vis disasters. It will also present the advances in the Initiative of the Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies (ARISE) and will provide an opportunity to sign the agreement to establish the National Chapter of ARISE-Mexico.

SELA organized the Seminar-Workshop on Financial Inclusion of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Latin America and the Caribbean, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy (MINECO) of Guatemala. This event enabled participants to gain knowledge about the advances and prospects of financial inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean and promoted the recent initiatives that the governments of the region have implemented to enhance and support financing options, such as fintech, and the innovative mechanisms for financing, guarantees, factoring and other financial services with a view to strengthening MSMEs. In addition, this Seminar-Workshop promoted successful cases and best practices that are being developed with the participation of MSMEs, regional organizations and service providers to achieve a broader and more comprehensive financial inclusion.