SELA and CELIEM conclude Diploma Course for Public Management of MSME Programmes with a Gender Approach

The Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) and the Latin American Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CELIEM) successfully concluded the Diploma Course for Public Management of MSME Programmes with a Gender Approach, which graduated 19 officials from several countries in the region, providing them with strategic tools to promote business initiatives led by women.

The Permanent Secretary of SELA, Ambassador Clarems Endara, stressed that MSMEs are the engines of development in the region, where the public, private and academic sectors must create an environment that facilitates the emergence of enterprises, especially those initiatives led by women. He added that the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals is a priority for the region, including the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

“We at SELA express our willingness to continue working with the greatest enthusiasm in these enriching and necessary experiences for the region. I conclude by thanking you for your attendance and the receptiveness with which you responded to this invitation. To those who completed the training process, I extend my best wishes for success in the development of what they have learned and for the strengthening of public policies with a gender perspective in our region. I also invite them to be multipliers of best practices in each of their institutions,” he noted.

Luis Álvarez Soto, executive director of CELIEM, detailed the urgency of strengthening the SME ecosystem for the economic development of the region. In this regard, he stressed that the Diploma Course for the Public Management of MSME Programmes with a Gender

Approach, led to a conscious reflection on the characteristics of entrepreneurs in order to put them at the service of the management of enterprises led by women.

Patricia Romero, head of the Social Development and Gender Unit of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining of Uruguay and participant of the Diploma Course, expressed her gratitude for the efforts made to bring this training to a successful conclusion. “Much remains to be done, but spaces like this, lines of work like this one, which share best practices, are strategic and help us make progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and in 2023 we will continue to work with the contribution of SELA and CELIEM,” she stressed.

The Diploma Course for the Public Management of MSME Programmes with a Gender Approach began last May with the aim of strengthening the management of public policies in the current context and promoting public officials with competencies and skills that contribute to generating innovative approaches to women's entrepreneurship in the region.