By Caribbean News Global 
WASHINGTON, USA – The Organization of American States (OAS) and the Plurinational State of Bolivia, with the help of the company Kolau, will promote the digitalization of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and will help thousands of small businesses to expand into the digital economy, following an agreement signed today in a virtual ceremony.
The interim president of Bolivia, Jeanine Áñez, declared that the initiative will open the doors of the digital economy to small entrepreneurs in her country, a key factor in the Bolivian economy. “Digitalizing MSMEs is helping these Bolivian companies open up to world trade and technology, and when an economy opens up to the world and technology, then more jobs are created and the economy grows,” said president Áñez.
OAS secretary-general Luis Almagro said it is a “point of pride” that Bolivia has joined the Digitalization Plan at a time when COVID-19 is hitting the economies of the region hard. “Helping MSMEs in their digitalization process is essential for them to face the pandemic, prepare for the digital economy and ensure their survival beyond this crisis,” added secretary general Almagro.
For his part, Kolau chief executive officer Daniel Sánchez said that the digital divide has increased in the last decade and this year with the COVID-19 pandemic it has increased. “The main objective of the plan in Bolivia is to exceed 10,000 MSMEs digitalized per year with their own website, so that they can sell their products in the national and international markets”, said Sánchez.
The executive secretariat for Integral Development of the OAS, in association with the company KOLAU – a strategic partner of Google -created the Digitalization Plan that allows MSMEs the opportunity to create a dynamic website that is positioned intelligently in Google Maps, so that customers searching online for a certain product or service can find the closest store location in the app.
The MSMEs Digitalization Plan is being implemented in several countries in the Americas and has benefited more than 65,000 entrepreneurs. So far, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Paraguay, Jamaica, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala and México have benefited from this service. Interested companies can register here.
