Project Name：SME Development Project (Guatemala)

Project status：Completed projects

Cooperating Country：Central America, Guatemala

Project Description：The purpose of this project is to assist the Guatemalan Government in improving its capacities of providing counseling and guidance to the small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This includes assisting them in tracing the SMEs circumstances, to draw up holistic SMEs counseling policies, and to strengthen the capacities of external counseling institutes; all of which aims to further develop the SME sector in Guatemala.
The contents of the project include: 1.) Facilitating the integration of resources between Guatemala’s Ministry of Economy (MINECO) with external collaborating partners, including resources from the government, academic institutions and from the industrial sectors. 2.) Convening steering group meetings based on the national economic development policy and the outcome results from the current SMEs circumstances research analysis. 3.) Develop counseling initiatives and measures based on focus industries needs and regional development status. 4.) Implementation of SME counseling and support - The related entities will examine the adequacy of counseling prospects (qualified SMEs), infuse technical assistance and operational management enhancements, improve the quality and image of its products, and consequently increases the revenues of the selected enterprises under the counseling assistance.
The number of qualified enterprises receiving counseling assistance is aimed to increase year by year, which is supported by the increased capacity of MINECO. The outcomes of the project also aim to promote the development of regional economies/industries, and the creation of more job opportunities.


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Implementation Start Date：2015-08-05

Implementation End Date：2018-12-31

Project Objectives：1. Assist with increasing the capability of Guatemala’s Ministry of Economy (MINECO) in tracking SMEs circumstances through a systematic research approach and its ability to draw up overall SMEs counseling policies.
2. Strengthen the capacity of the government officials working in the Vice Ministry of SMEs under MINECO, along with external counseling institutes. These capacities include: policy planning, project design, and project management and evaluation.
3. Create a system of monitoring and evaluation of the counseling results and an external platform to release project outcomes and information.
4. Strengthen the ability of external counseling institutes and establish a standard operating procedure for SME counseling.
5. Strengthen the professional capacity of the project consultants.

Executing Agency：the Vice Ministry of SMEs under MINECO
Taiwan Investment and Trade Service Mission in Central America

Project Performance：1. Handled of analysis of current status for SMEs and design of its policy planning with total of 8 reports.
2. Compiled 2 books of operation manuals of SMEs Counseling Center in Rafael Lantivar and Galileo Universities.
3. Managed of analysis of current situation of agricultural food processing, handicrafts, wood furniture and its popular trends with total of 14 reports.
4. Realized training courses which included the classes of consultants, the classes of supervision and management for government officials, the classes such as the marketing, finance, information, production process and cost, and management for SMEs with a total of 51 classes and of 1,097 participants.
5. Arranged short-term experts of Taiwan for conducting the technical training classes, technical consulting and seminars in Guatemala, with a total of 1,063 participants.
6. Conducted the technical counselling of individual SMEs with participants total of 315 enterprise.
7. Assisted in product promotion and marketing activities, supplied of design development, training, materials and venues, with total 87 cases and 1,237 SMEs benefited.
8. Established a information platform of SMEs..

Signing Date：2015-08-05

Mission：Taiwan Investment and Trade Service Mission in Central America