Print

Central American Project

Central American countries have long recognized the importance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) as major contributors to employment and growth within their communities, nations and region as a whole.

The Central American Small Business Development Center Project will assist in the creation of sustainable small business assistance networks throughout Central America based on the proven U.S. SBDC model. The Project will engage and actively enlist the support from the government, higher-education, NGOs and private sector for a more effective and integrated infrastructure for MSME assistance and help improve upon existing programs. This would ensure an effective, efficient and integrated regional Central American SBDC network that would provide micro, small and medium enterprises with the high-value assistance that will enable them to grow sales, improve competitiveness, create sustainable jobs and long-term economic impact.

The newly created network of Central American SBDC programs will be linked with each other and existing partners located in the U.S., Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador and the countries of the Caribbean to not only share program successful practices but also to connect their clients with multilateral international trade opportunities. Most importantly, this project will create a network of SBDC programs in Central America that would leverage the immense talent, expertise and infrastructure that exists.

This project will launch its initial SBDC pilots in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama; other Central American countries will  participate in later phases of the project.

For more information on each country, please click on the links below:

For more information on this projects, please contact: