San Antonio, TX (August 30, 2012) – The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Institute for Economic Development and International Trade Center will be attending the Organization of American States (OAS) Conference in New Orleans, LA, September 10-11. Ministerial level authorities from OAS member states will have sessions to discuss public policies that enhance competitiveness and internationalization of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME). This event is a pre-conference for the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) national conference that is taking place later that week in New Orleans.
Robert McKinley, Associate Vice President of Economic Development for UTSA and head of the Institute for Economic Development will be on the panel for “Public policies and support institutions for the development of MSMEs and horizontal cooperation experiences.” He will discuss Small Business Development Center (SBDC) expansion throughout Latin America and Caribbean nations as a network to promote development and trade.
UTSA President Dr. Ricardo Romo will sign an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with Brazil’s economic development agency SEBRAE and the ASBDC. The accord will formalize a working relationship and will usher in linking SEBRAE to SBDCGlobal.com, a website that connects SBDC clients with international trade opportunities.
“Brazil is the dominant economy in South America and an important trade partner with the US. This formalization of relations with SEBRAE has been three years in the making and an important step to linking small business development networks in the Americas,” said Robert McKinley, Associate Vice President of Economic Development at UTSA.
Since 2003 the Institute for Economic Development together with the International Trade Center has been helping 12 foreign countries develop networks of SBDCs to develop MSMEs based on the proven US model of SBDC networks. These networks will be connected via SBDCGlobal.com to better facilitate trade. For more information on the trade website SBDCGlobal.com, visit http://sbdcglobal.com.
