This project seeks to improve the competitiveness of small businesses in Uruguay, through establishment of a business development center (BDC) in the Manufacturers Association of Uruguay (CIU), with two nationwide windows, one in Montevideo at CIU headquarters and the second operating on a pilot basis in the city of Paysandú, in northern Uruguay. Project activities are to: (a) generate demand among businesses for nonfinancial business services; (b) stimulate cooperation among firms as an instrument to increase competitiveness, through supplier strengthening pilot programs, sector pilot programs, and internationalization pilot programs; and (c) cooperate in the strengthening of the local supply of business development services, consulting services, and the network of private-sector business intermediaries. The first activity will: (a) stimulate greater, more diverse demand for business services; (b) facilitate the selection, use, and supervision of consulting and business development services; and (c) launch a promotion and marketing campaign. The BDC will identify and visit small businesses in manufacturing and related sectors to identify demand for advisory services and entrepreneurs will be motivated to use consulting services through cofinancing. The second activity will promote business association activities through: (a) pilot programs of associations between businesses and providers to strengthen the chain of production by improving quality, prices, and delivery capacity; (b) pilot sector programs, which will improve productivity and quality through cooperation, by incorporating several levels of the chain, like cluster programs; and (c) pilot internationalization programs, aimed at helping the businesses penetrate international markets through development of a comprehensive plan for joint ventures with businesses in the region. The third activity funds the BDC in providing referral services to entrepreneurs and coordinating the supply of such services. A yearly training program will be carried out for local consultants in such topics as the labor system, business organization, production programming and planning, industrial costs, and so forth.
Project Detail
Country
Uruguay
Project Number
TC9806251
Approval Date
August 4, 1999
Project Status
Closed
Project Type
Technical Cooperation
Sector
PRIVATE FIRMS AND SME DEVELOPMENT
Subsector
PRIVATE FIRMS AND SME DEVELOPMENT
Lending Instrument
Multilateral Investment Fund Instrument
Lending Instrument Code
MIF
Modality
-
Facility Type
-
Environmental and Social Impact Category (ESIC)
-
Total Cost
USD 2,100,000.00
Country Counterpart Financing
USD 834,000.00
Original Amount Approved
USD 1,266,000.00