(14 March 2016) Competitiveness, innovation and finance for development: these are the buzzwords of the second Italian-Latin American Forum on SMEs organized by the Istituto Italo-Latino Americano (Iila) and the Mexican Instituto Nacional del Emprendedor (Inadem) with the support and collaboration of the Directorate General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGCS-MAECI) and the Mexican International Cooperation (Amexcd). The Forum, scheduled for March 16-18, will have as its epicenter the city of León, with activities in the states of Guanajuato, Jalisco and San Luis Potosi. The event will be opened by Mexico Inadem President Enrique Jacob Rocha, the Ambassador of Italy in Mexico Alessandro Busacca, and the Secretary general of IILA Giorgio Malfatti di Monte Tretto. The initiative will bring together an Italo-Latin American community of more than 200 delegates, including institutional representatives, entrepreneurs, academics, scientists and technicians from Mexico, Italy and 17 other Latin American and Caribbean countries. Together, they will discuss how to improve the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises, by identifying policies, instruments and projects that mostly affect growth and inclusion in value chains; how to introduce innovation in SMEs, defining collaboration modalities with technological service centers and training institutions; how to address the issue of financial resources, proposing and discussing new financial mechanisms and instruments to support the development of these businesses. (Sip)
