RIO DE JANEIRO – The 5th Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise mapped out alternatives and new perspectives for the development of an economic sector that provides jobs to more than 110 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean, organizers said at the closing of the event.
The three-day meeting was organized by the Inter-American Development Bank and sponsored by Brazil’s Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas (SEBRAE) and Banco do Nordeste. More than 2,000 people attended the conference.
“Our main hope is that the issues raised at the forum may bear fruit and foster the growth of microenterprise in the region,” said Waldemar W. Wirsig, head of the IDB’s Country Office in Brazil.
Alvaro Ramírez, chief of the IDB’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Division, said the forum had yielded excellent results, both in terms of attendance as in the topics that were discussed during its sessions and workshops.
The 5th forum, which built on the meetings held in previous years in Mexico, Buenos Aires, Barcelona and Santo Domingo, focused on what countries can do to create better political, economic and social conditions to help microentrepreneurs.
Among other issues, participants analyzed recent advancements in microfinance regulations, entrepreneurship in Latin America, the use of e-commerce in microenterprise, marketing for microenterprises, the role of credit unions in microfinance, and the simplification of bureaucratic procedures for small businesses.
Guatemala’s Vice Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise, Edmundo Nanne, invited participants to attend the 6th forum, which will be held next year in Guatemala.
Brazil’s First Lady, Ruth Cardoso, gave a presentation on the achievements of Comunidade Solidária, an initiative that supports social programs in Brazil. UNCTAD Secretary General and former Brazilian finance minister Rubens Ricúpero moderated a panel on business linkages.
Leading economists, academics and microfinance practitioners also addressed the meeting, which was attended by delegates from government agencies, NGOs, commercial banks, credit unions, foundations, investment funds, consulting firms, aid agencies and multilateral institutions.
As part of the forum, IDB President Enrique V. Iglesias awarded the Bank’s annual prizes to institutions and people who stand out for their support for microenterprise and community development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Peru’s Caja Municipal de Ahorro y Crédito de Arequipa won the Award for Excellence in Microfinance for Regulated Institutions. Nicaragua’s Fundación para el Apoyo a la Microempresa (FAMA) won the Award for Excellence in Microfinance for Non-Regulated Institutions
Brazilian NGO Visão Mundial won the Award for Excellence in Business Development Services Award. Oded Grajew, president and founder of the Instituto Ethos de Responsabilidade Social do Brasil, won the Social Entrepreneurship Award.
During the meeting the IDB signed a $30 million loan for Banco do Nordeste to support the expansion of Crediamigo, the leading microcredit program in one of the poorest regions of Brazil.
The IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund signed an operation with BNDES, SEBRAE and asset managers Mercatto to invest up to $4.5 million in a venture capital fund that will support emerging technology firms in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
MIF also signed a $2 million grant for a SEBRAE project to promote the development of industrial districts – networks of businesses – in furniture, footwear, textiles and lingerie production centers in four Brazilian states.
Other operations were formalized to support Guatemala’s REDIMIF network of microfinance institutions, El Salvador’s Cooperative Society of Cashew Producers, and Guatemalan cooperative Nuevo Horizonte.