San Antonio, (May 06, 2014) – The International Trade Center at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Institute of Economic Development announced today that it will conclude a four-module Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Counselor and Director Certificate Training in Lima, Peru. Approximately 120 participants are expected to graduate from this round of training. Attendees come from the public, private and higher education sectors. Peru is the second country in South America to receive Counselor and Director Certificate training.
SBDCs, established throughout the US by the federal government in partnership with state governments and universities and colleges, assist entrepreneurs and business owners in establishing and growing their businesses through a free and confidential suite of advising services. Services include, but not limited to, feasibility studies, business strategy, financial planning, marketing, production and professional networking. The Centers support new and existing businesses.
The goal of the SBDC Counselor and Director Certificate Training is to transfer the SBDC model methodology and train professionals on how to manage and operate an economic impact-producing SBDC. This training is part of the International Trade Center and Institute for Economic Development’s International SBDC Expansion Initiative that, with the support of the US Department of State, has been helping countries to develop US modeled SBDC networks in the Americas since 2003.
UTSA Associate Vice President for Economic Development Robert McKinley, and Sr. International Business Consultant Mónica Alcoz will conduct the final module of UTSA’s Counselor and Director Certificate Training and preside over the graduation ceremony at the close of the event. The final module runs May 8-9, 2014.
“The rigorous training program that we have developed to present to these future SBDC professionals contains best practice for setting up and running U.S. modeled SBDCs,” said Cliff Paredes, Director of the International Trade Center. “It is based on the experience and success of the more than 1000 centers operating in the U.S. today.”
For this Certificate training UTSA has partnered with Peru’s Ministerio de la Producción, the event will be conducted in Lima at the Universidad del Pacífico. In attendance will be Sandra Doig Díaz, Vice Minister for Small Business and Industry, who will be launching the Pilot Program for SBDCs in Peru, as well as a representative from the US Embassy in Lima, Peru.
The International Trade Center at UTSA is one of the largest and most successful trade assistance organizations in Texas. It helps companies become globally competitive through technical trade consulting, customized market research and innovative training programs. The center is a specialty SBDC program in the South-West Texas Border SBDC Network. Follow them on Twitter (@TexasTrade) and like them on Facebook (Facebook.com/texastrade).
For more information on the project, visit http://www.sbdcglobal.com/index.php/us/international-sbdc.html
