La Red de Innovación e Impacto to Celebrate Its New Class of Members at Annual Summit in Antigua, October 29-30
October 23, 2018 /3BL Media/ - The U.S. Department of State, the World Environment Center (WEC), Le Groupe-conseil baastel Itée (Baastel), and RioSlum Studio are proud to announce the newest members of La Red de Innovación e Impacto (La Red), an international network of innovative organizations supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to drive sustainable economic growth and prosperity across Latin America. These new members were selected through the international Power to Grow Innovation Challenge.
The new La Red members will be inducted at the 2018 Annual La Red Summit in Antigua, Guatemala on October 29th and 30th. The Summit will provide training and capacity building as well as convene a Business Roundtable to share insights from experts in the region’s impact investment sector, including key actors in corporate value chains, Ministry, multilateral agencies, and US Government Officials. Highlighted speakers include the author of the recent, well-received Americas Society / Council of the Americas (AS/COA) study on the Linkages Between multinational corporations and MSMEs in Latin America, Dr. Carlos Parra of Florida International University.
Up to 95% of companies in Central America are MSMEs, creating 61% of all jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean. The success of MSMEs and the prosperity of the region are inextricably linked. In order for MSMEs to succeed, they must be empowered with support and incentives to access new markets, adopt sustainable practices, and strengthen workers’ rights.
La Red member organizations provide comprehensive assistance to MSMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean, empowering them to grow and thrive. La Red helps member organizations increase their impact by leveraging their work with financial aid, technical assistance, and expert connections. Through the work of La Red, more than 300 MSMEs in Latin America have benefited, of which more than 95% were from Central America. More than 1,800 people have found new or better employment and almost all of them (1,787) were workers in Central America. Also, more than 4,400 farmers have improved their operations as a direct result of the work of member organizations funded by La Red- all of them in Central America.
The following members of the new class of La Red will expand the network’s reach and deepen the sustained commitment to MSMEs by partnering with selected “Alumni” members (below) throughout Central America. These organizations are working specifically to scale the capacity and reach of micro-enterprises in the textile, agriculture, and agro-industrial sectors:
BELIZE
New La Red member: Toledo Institute for Development and Environment – TIDE meets the needs of local communities in Southern Belize by securing local livelihoods through economic development in conservation, sustainable development, environmental education, and community development.
La Red Alumni member: Travolution seeks to be the first global network of community tourism, facilitating meetings between travelers and rural communities and to foster the development of these communities in harmony with nature and traditional culture.
COSTA RICA
New La Red member: Cámara de Exportadores de Costa Rica – CADEXCO supports the needs, demands and challenges faced by exporting companies of all national productive sectors. The Chamber is composed of 300 companies of different sizes and sectors, which represent nearly 70% of total Costa Rican exports abroad.
La Red Alumni member: Wakami is a social system that connects rural communities to global markets by working with, and empowering, women in order to generate income and transform cycles of poverty into cycles of prosperity.
EL SALVADOR
New La Red member: Asociación Cooperativa de Producción Agropecuaria Cacao Los Izalcos de R.L.– ACPACI is a collection of small producers and processors in El Salvador mainly dedicated to the production, processing and commercialization of products derived from cocoa. Their mission is to support the primary production and added value of the cultivation of Cocoa, providing quality products through the implementation of Good Practices in each link.
La Red Alumni member: Lutheran World Relief - Cacao Móvil (and Honduras) – Mobile Cocoa will increase the competitiveness of 4,000 SMEs in the cocoa sector in Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. This project seeks to empower cocoa farm SMEs through a stronger voice in public and private policy decisions regarding the cocoa sector and to promote increased trade and regional competitiveness of cocoa farm SMEs through an improved image of Central American cocoa among international cocoa buyers.
GUATEMALA
New La Red member: Fundación del Centavo – Fundacen is an institution dedicated to promoting socioeconomic development through microcredit in rural areas where access to credit is limited. Its mission is to be a financially sustainable institution, expanding around the established regions, increasing the volume of portfolio, users and products, with its own resources and support of national and international alliances, having achieved a positive impact in the rural poor communities.
La Red Alumni member: Vista Volcanes – Vista Volcanes provides sustainable greenhouses and organic tools to help small vegetable farmers in the highlands of Guatemala grow crops that are not only more environmentally friendly, but of higher quality and greater yield.
HONDURAS
Fundación Solidaridad Latinoamericana – Solidaridad is an international civil society organization focused on solutions for fair and sustainable practices in multiple value chains. They work with millions of farmers, miners and industrial workers in 49 different countries through nine regional centers.
La Red Alumni member: Lutheran World Relief (See El Salvador)
PANAMA
New La Red member: Cámara de Comercio, Industrias y Agricultura de Chiriquí – CAMCHI’s membership of 375 companies from the Province of Chiriquí and from other regions supports the growth of these companies by offering opportunities to generate alliances between partners and national and international organizations.
La Red Alumni member: National Council of Panama’s Private Sector/Panama Cleaner Production Center – CONEP/CPML unites, coordinates and represents Panamanian enterprises to strengthen the private sector with the aim of stimulating the economy, and improving society and Panama’s international standing.
REGIONAL
New La Red member: FUNDES is a 34-year-old non-profit whose mission is to promote the competitive development of MSMEs in Latin America. It aims to build competitive and inclusive economies by partnering both with governments and development organizations to build competitive and sustainable business ecosystems.
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About La Red
The U.S. Department of State has funded the World Environment Center (WEC) and its partners, Le Groupe-conseil baastel ltée (Baastel), and RioSlum Studio, to select organizations that are accelerating business development and promoting sustainable economic growth in Latin America. The Program, La Red de Innovación e Impacto (La Red), was established in 2014 and is a collection of 37 innovative solutions from 11 countries in the region.
About World Environment Center
WEC is an independent, global non-profit, non-advocacy organization that advances sustainable development through the business practices and operations of its member companies and in partnership with governments, multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations, universities and other stakeholders. WEC’s mission is to promote business and societal value by advancing solutions to sustainable development-related problems.
About Baastel
Baastel is recognized for its quality services in Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), Results-based Management (RBM), strategic planning, project and program management, and building individual and institutional capacity in these areas. Baastel’s outstanding reputation in the field is built on a record of international and national successes, and expertise that is backed by attention to detail, quality, transparency and neutrality.
About RioSlum Studio
RioSlum Studio offers branding, design, messaging, and strategy services to daring companies with bold vision. RioSlum Studio builds compelling brands that evoke emotion, demand attention, and attract business. RioSlum Studio was launched to ensure all companies, from one-person startups to global corporations, have access to the high-quality branding and communications services they need to command global attention.
