Initiative Launched to Promote Business Innovation
The United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and TERNOVA launched a business innovation initiative to help 20 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and 10 start-ups increase their sales and generate more jobs.
The launch event was presided over by the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy, Brendan O’Brien; TERNOVA’s Executive Director, Rodrigo Tona; and representatives from the Salvadoran Association of Industrialists (ASI), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of El Salvador (CAMARASAL), and the American Chamber of Commerce of El Salvador (AMCHAM).
The alliance will promote innovation initiatives for MSMEs and entrepreneurs to develop new products or services that will generate at least 100 jobs and sales of $2.1 million within 18 months.
To this end, INnovaLab, TERNOVA’s innovation center, will support MSMEs and entrepreneurs by implementing a strategy to identify and profile the needs of each of the participants so that they can take full advantage of the services offered by INnovaLab, including digital marketing, innovation strategies and agile methods through training, workshops and mentoring in order to increase their sales and generate more jobs. As for the start-ups, 10 innovative ideas with the capacity to become sustainable businesses will be accelerated, taking them from their initial idea to their launch. The process will end with a round of presentations to potential investors.
“I am very excited about this new alliance with TERNOVA, a company that has been a leader in innovation in the plastics sector. The best part is that TERNOVA wants other Salvadoran companies to also succeed through innovation, sharing their knowledge and experience,” said the Chargé d’Affaires.
This initiative will support MSMEs in key sectors for economic development, such as agribusiness and services, that need to strengthen their brand and have the willingness to generate innovation capabilities. It is expected that this alliance will strengthen the country’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
