AGEXPORT and the World Indigenous Business Forum formed a strategic alliance to merge the experience of developing rural value chains with actions to strengthen the business capabilities of indigenous communities in Guatemala.

This alliance looks to promote platforms to achieve higher economic development in rural areas of the country by promoting our value chains methodology to reach a higher potential in local territories, generate employment opportunities and give higher incomes to the families of these communities. All initiatives promoted with this alliance will also seek to generate minimum impacts on the environment with the implementation of good practices on water usage, no soil contamination and preservation of forests; said Mr. Ivan Buitron, manager of AGEXPORT’s Development Division.

The World Indigenous Business Forum seeks to change the paradigm of development in indigenous communities, supports business development in rural areas and generates ideas and projects around local economic development and business topics.

We want to implement an “inter-cultural” vision in order to change the current paradigm of seeing cultural diversity as a weakness and not as a strenght. The World Indigenous Business Forum wants to raise awareness of the richness of the identity that defines us as indigenous communities; said Mrs. Maria Tuyuc, president of the World Indigenous Business Forum.

In order to formalize this alliance, both institutions signed an agreement on September 2^nd, 2019. For AGEXPORT, Mrs. Connie de Paiz (AGEXPORT’s President) signed the agreement, along with Mrs. Maria Tuyuc, President of the World Indigenous Business Forum.