Tenerife By the conclusion of next November, it will become the hub for medium and small enterprises in Spain, Portugal, and the Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking nations of America. This has been stated by the Vice-President of the Tenerife Cabildo and Minister of Tourism, Lope Afonso (PP). The VII Ibero-American Forum of MSMEs will convene in Tenerife policy makers, specialists, and entrepreneurs from across Ibero-America, organised collaboratively by the Ibero-American General Secretariat and the Council of Ibero-American Businessmen (CEIB). Various public and private organisations from the Canary Islands, along with business entities such as the Confederation of Businessmen of Tenerife, are also involved in the organisation.
In the preceding edition, which took place in 2023 in Medellin (Colombia), 70 delegates from government and business organisations representing 22 Ibero-American nations, along with 4 international entities and 7 agencies for investment and export promotion participated on the first day; while the second day featured 28 speakers from 12 nations across the region, attracting over 700 attendees in person.
The themes and agenda for this seventh edition hosted in Tenerife will highlight the topics included in the Ibero-American Commitment to MSMEs, which refers to small and medium-sized enterprises, adopted at the last forum in Medellín. Both public and private sectors in Ibero-America are dedicated to fostering and engaging in the establishment of financing sources for MSMEs, along with promoting dialogue to simplify and standardise the regulatory framework regarding tax and labour issues, which are crucial for diminishing informality.
Lope Afonso and Pedro González. | ED0
It is deemed important to enhance the visibility and identification of commercial prospects for small and medium-sized enterprises in the region, stimulate development, and fortify small-scale agro-industrial chains to boost competitiveness. Above all, there is a focus on providing technical assistance and training for MSMEs regarding internationalisation, digital transformation, and the implementation of technologies to improve productivity. It is vital to recognise that education and employment serve as fundamental means for social inclusion and play a crucial role in enabling equal opportunities.
Lope Afonso maintains that by hosting this “significant” forum on the Island, “we reinforce the initiative we have set out to foster business advancement that yields more and better job opportunities, whilst continuing to position us as a benchmark in job creation.” for both organisations and self-employed individuals. The Vice-President emphasises that, “following the success achieved in prior editions, this event has solidified its status as a genuine Ibero-American Summit aimed at MSMEs and a distinctive platform for public-private dialogue.”
The Ibero-American Secretary General, Andrés Allamand; the Deputy Minister of Economy and Internationalisation for the Government of the Canary Islands, Gustavo González; the insular director of Foreign Action, Pedro González; and the permanent secretary of CEIB, Narciso Casado; convened last week at the Ibero-American General Secretariat’s offices in Madrid to initiate the VII Ibero-American MSME Forum, set for late November in Tenerife.
This forum has demonstrated its value as a distinct platform for forming strategic partnerships and developing more effective public policies that bolster economic growth and social advancement within the region, through MSMEs, which account for more than 95% of the productive sector of the region.
