"Looking ahead to the future of Pedernales, with large companies set up in the hotel zone, we cannot neglect the work done by small businesses, which could disappear with the economic boost the sector is going to have if we don't give them the proper attention.".
SANTO DOMINGO- In order to strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the province of Pedernales and enable them to thrive amidst the influx of companies that will be established in this new tourist development, the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR) has launched a program designed to support them in the process.
It was only at the headquarters of that government agency that the first working group meeting was held in search of solutions to the formalization and financing of the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that operate in that province and the Enriquillo region.
Alongside Mitur sat representatives from government institutions, banking, universities, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
The meeting for the formulation and development of the Formalization and Access to Financing program for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Pedernales Province and the Enriquillo Region was led by the Vice Minister of International Cooperation and Executive Director of the Pedernales Project, Carlos Peguero, as a strategy to prepare for the take-off that the tourism plan will have at the end of next year, with the inauguration of the new cruise port that is being built in Cabo Rojo.
Peguero emphasized that, in addition to providing training and generating jobs for the inhabitants of Pedernales and the four provinces that make up the Enriquillo region, the aim is to formalize and assist with financing these micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that operate there, so that they do not disappear.
“Looking ahead to the future of Pedernales, with large companies set up in the hotel zone, we cannot neglect the work done by small businesses, which could disappear with the economic boost the sector will receive if we don't give them the proper attention,” he said.
He added that President Luis Abinader's interest and concern is that this sector can survive, grow, and be an integral part of all the development that Pedernales and the Enriquillo region will have from the start of operations of the new cruise port.
Erick Dorrejo, director of the border zone development policy department of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development (MEPyD), and Roberto Verrier, coordinator, were in charge of presenting the Business Strengthening Program (Profem), an initiative that aims to coordinate strategies to strengthen the business development of MSMEs in the border region with access to financing and increased production.
The interventions revolved around the situation prevailing in the Enriquillo region, with a focus on eight components that seek to promote the development of these MSMEs: Identify, formalize, train, technical assistance, financing, markets, digital economy and unity.
The participants showed a willingness to work with Mitur for the development and formalization of MSMEs, from their initiatives and programs implemented in the four provinces of Enriquillo, as well as the assistance and training carried out by PUCMM, INFOTEP, DGII, PROMIPYME and IDECOOP.
Angel Matos, Deputy Director of Management and Business Development at PROMIPYME, expressed the entity's commitment to "working on financing, training together with Infotep, and technical assistance in terms of what pertains to our area, which is financial education.".
The official cited the digital economy, handicrafts, and the lack of gastronomy businesses as the main challenges that must be faced by the province of Pedernales, in light of the tourism project.
Participating in the working group were executives from Banreservas; Víctor Mercedes and Juan Mustafá, general manager of the National Export Bank (BANDEX), who welcomed the initiative and guaranteed financing for small and medium-sized enterprises and project ventures in the region, highlighting the importance of formalizing these businesses and complying with regulations.
On the subject, Vice Minister Peguero advocated for reflection and flexibility in the financial sector regarding financing for the captive market of companies that will demand agricultural products.
At the meeting, the Southern Regional Director of INFOTEP, Luis Beltré Mesa, reported that as a result of the courses in which 596 young people from the region were certified last April, some 456 submitted resumes at the recent job fair organized by the Ministries of Tourism, Labor and Infotep, to enter different areas.
He stated that some 1,150 training actions are planned for this year for the Enriquillo region alone, out of a total of 3,605, because it will be the area that will supply the large Pedernales project.
Among the representatives present are Manuel Alba Cano, acting general coordinator of the technical cooperation office of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and Patricia Jiménez, coordinator of Alliances and Resource Mobilization at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
