PARIS -- Experts and entrepreneurs today urged leaders of small-and medium-sized businesses to explore joint ventures and associations and invest in new technologies and modern management methods to prosper in an increasingly competitive and globalized environment.
Inter-American Development Bank President Enrique V. Inglesias, in inaugurating a seminar at the IDB Annual Meeting on the importance of joint ventures for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), said alliances are "an excellent way to increase overall competitiveness." He urged businesses to explore nontraditional sectors, such as telecommunications, information technology, environmental services, and energy efficiency.
The seminar was co-sponsored by the Inter-American Investment Corporation, a member of the IDB Group that provides loans and investments to small- and medium-sized businesses, and Probanca of Spain.
Ramón Casilda Béjar, director of corporate strategy and development for Probanca Servicios Financieros, S.A., warned that SMEs were running the danger of "being left by the side of the road" as mergers and acquisitions are becoming increasingly common and large companies are becoming even larger and more powerful.
"This is a reality we have to live with,"he said.
To survive, he said, SMEs need to make investments in technology, management skills, and human resources. He described cooperation and joint ventures among businesses as viable alternatives that can result in "greater efficiency,¨.
Guillermo Joffré, chief financial officer of Impsat, described how his firm join forces with local investors and world class companies to become "the leading provider of private network telecom services in Latin America."
Jacky Mugrabi, president of Desler S.A., an Argentine environmental services company, said his firm found profitable opportunities that resulted from stricter environmental laws and technological transfer from other firms in Europe and North America.
Javier Matamoros Agüero, general manager of Hidroeléctrica Platanar of Costa Rica, described how new national legislation promoting cleaner energy sources presented an opportunity for several companies to join forces in a profitable hydroelectric investment using advanced technologies that was assisted by both the public and private sectors.