The workshop was held in Nicaragua under the framework of LAC FLAVORS 2013.

GRANADA, Nicaragua – Sixty female business owners from the region who run exporting firms in the food sector, participated in the workshop “Trade in Action”, which was organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and that aims to help the companies become more competitive internationally and in their own markets. The participants were selected based on recognized experience exporting to the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia, and have obtained quality certifications such as Fair Trade, Gluten Free, Rain Forest Alliance, and others. The participants attended several lectures on the best techniques to develop competitive business strategies and gain insights into how to make their products more attractive through marketing and promotion.

According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), women perform 66 percent of the world’s work and produce 50 percent of its food, but they receive only 10 percent of the earnings and own only 1 percent of the world’s property.

“Businesses led by women have a great potential to benefit from the advantages of free trade. However, their capabilities can be affected by situations of inequality such as fewer options to access financing or limited access to information and training. This workshop was organized on the basis of the needs identified by the 60 participants and for that reason we expect high-impact results,” said Isabel Mejía, Coordinator of the IDB Gender and Trade Initiative.

Among the panelists was the branding expert Indhira Rojas, Creative Director and Founder of Design Theorem, whose clients include Facebook and YouTube. Other panelists discussed topics such as negotiation techniques and female leadership empowerment as well as entry strategies and definition of prices in highly competitive markets, among others.

The workshop was organized by the Trade and Investment Unit of the Integration and Trade Sector of the IDB, with the support of the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) and the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF).

“Trade in Action” will be held in the context of “LAC Flavors 2013” a business roundtable organized by the IDB and PRONicaragua, and will take place on July 25 - 26, in Granada.