WASHINGTON, USA — The Organization of American States (OAS) and KOLAU Marketing, on September 26, 2019, signed a cooperation agreement to encourage the digitalization of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Latin America and the Caribbean.
During the signing ceremony, the OAS executive secretary for integral development, Kim Osborne, said the partnership “is an effort to help MSMEs to have a presence online.”
“This gives them an opportunity to survive, to thrive and an opportunity to internationalize, and we encourage member states to participate and join this endeavor. We have a goal of helping 450,000 MSMEs over a period of three years, if we accomplish that goal we would have made a big step towards improving the livelihoods of the people of the Americas.”
For his part, general director of Kolau, Dany Sánchez-Mola said that this agreement “Strengthens the joint efforts of governmental and non-governmental MSME entities and that makes this plan a movement.”
He added that in the last four months five countries have joined the digitalization plan. “More than 15,000 MSMEs have joined to date, the rationale for the digitalization plan is to facilitate adaptation to the digital environment where most of the demand for products and services is generated.”
The signing forms part of the OAS MSME Digitalization Plan 2019 – 2022, which was launched in collaboration with member states and KOLAU. The Plan gives micro, small and medium-sized enterprises tools to market their products online at no cost, seeking to open opportunities for governments to assist MSMEs in their countries, thus driving economic growth.
Currently, five countries are implementing the OAS MSME Digitization Plan 2019-2022: El Salvador (40,000 MSMEs), Chile (80,000), Paraguay (30,000), Jamaica (25,000) and Honduras (30,000). Costa Rica and Guatemala will launch the Plan in October and other countries are expected to implement soon.
