US$3 million loan will boost government actions that promote greater participation of small and medium enterprises in international trade
Argentina will seek to increase the value of annual exports by its small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by $90 million over the next two years, as part of a program to strengthen the management of foreign trade policy that will be supported by a $3 million loan approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The program will strengthen the areas of operational management, trade promotion and investment attraction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, to promote greater participation of SMEs in international trade activities.
The program's goal is to encourage a more dynamic growth of exports, diversify products and markets, and increase the proportion of exports with higher value added. This will in turn translate into improved levels of employment, especially for Argentina’s regional economies, and will stimulate the further development of SMEs.
The project will help the Ministry of International Cooperation and Coordination to optimize management tools and systems, financial administration, communications and physical infrastructure with the goal of improving efficiency in service delivery. In addition the project will enhance the tools of trade promotion and investment attraction of the Secretariat.
As a result of the program, SME exports are expected to increase from US$2.3 billion in 2009 to US$2.4 billion in 2013. The program is also expected to increase the number of SME companies in trade promotion events and the degree of satisfaction of SME beneficiaries with the services provided by the Ministry, among other management goals.
The IDB loan is for a 25 year term with a grace period of 3 years and an interest rate based on LIBOR. This loan builds on an earlier IDB credit in support of institutional capacity building at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The implementation of the first phase of the program was completed in October 2008.