AGEXPORT, along with the Guatemalan National Network of Managing Groups (Red Nacional de Grupos Gestores) and SEQUA from Germany, will manage a project called “More Competitive Cooperatives and SMEs” (MCC+) funded by the European Union.

The project, scheduled to last 36 months, will offer grants managed by AGEXPORT to benefit micro, small and medium companies in Guatemala as well as cooperatives and associations of different industries (agriculture, manufacturing and services). The total amount for grants adds up to 4 million Euros, co-funded by partner institutions with about EUR 705,882.

The MCC+ project will help small businessmen and women to develop different capabilities including business management, production and commercialization. Ultimately, the objective is to ease their participation on local markets as well as their expansion nationwide and even internationally, said Mr. Amador Carballido, AGEXPORT’s CEO.

The main objectives to achieve with this project are:

– Helping SMEs, cooperatives and associations to give higher value to their products and services, as well as increasing their revenues and employment-generation by raising their competitiveness and access to international markets.

– Strengthen institutional capabilities of participating firms and associations.

– Promoting links and cooperation among participant companies, cooperatives and associations by establishing value chains, networks and trade platforms to open new business opportunities.

– Promoting the implementation of different services among the participant institutions to support entrepreneurships from women and youth population from rural areas.

The European Union is aware of the key contribution that private sector organizations and specially SMEs give to the country’s economic development, which is why we are funding this MCC+ project to support the improvement of competitiveness and trade capabilities on cooperatives and SMEs, said the European Union’s Ambassador in Guatemala, Mr. Stefano Gatto.

SMEs, cooperatives and associations are key actors for Guatemala’s economic development. They face big challenges on competitiveness and access to international markets. The institutions involved on this MCC+ project share a common vision of contributing to the country’s economic development by supporting these institutions due to its large potential to offer employment opportunities for Guatemalans.

The MCC+ project will allow small and medium companies as well as cooperatives and associations to improve their competitiveness and take advantage of selling their products and services abroad, focusing on the European Union and the advantages that Guatemala enjoys due to the Association Agreement between the EU and Central America. At AGEXPORT, we are very thankful with the European Union for trusting us with the management of this key project, said Mr. Carballido.