LIMA LAUNCHING; LETTER OF COMMITMENT SIGNED BY THE CBI AND LCC

January 21, 2010

The CBI and the Lima Chamber of Commerce (LCC) have signed a Letter of Commitment that marked the official start of their collaboration. The CBI will support the LCC in establishing its ‘Exporta a Europa’ programme, a new line of services offered to Peruvian small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) targeting European markets.

The LCC is the largest Business Support Organisation (BSO) in Peru, with over 7.500 members and more than 300 events annually. It hosts a Centre for International Trade and a Council of 160 exporters and importers which meet regularly. It participates in International Trade Negotiations, such as the new Free Trade Agreement currently being negotiated with the European Union, and recently hosted the fourth Summit on International Trade.

Anticipating the growing export tendencies of Peruvian SMEs, the LCC recently embarked on a strategy to enhance its service delivery. As part of this strategy, the LCC took part in an Andean consortium that won a tender process for the new AL-Invest programme of the European Union. The AL-invest programme prepares Latin American SMEs on their way to EU exports, by providing them with information, training and consultancy, as well as assisting them in export promotion through trade fair participation, business meetings, and matchmaking events. The LCC will execute this programme in Peru and will bundle and promote these services to Peruvian SMEs under the name of ‘Exporta a Europa’ (Export to Europe). The ‘Exporta a Europa’ programme will also include CBI services, such as Export Coaching Programmes (ECPs) and workshops for Peruvian SMEs.

Institutional support

The LCC requested CBI to support the institution and its staff in the task of establishing the ‘Exporta a Europa’ Programme. To this end, the two partners have designed a so-called Business Support Organisation Development (BSOD) programme. The CBI will assist the LCC in the development and implementation of a business plan for its ‘Export a Europa’ programme, as well as of an adequate institutional structure, systems, and business model, and specific products and services tailored to the needs of Peruvian SMEs entering European markets. In this effort, the LCC intends to link up as much as possible with other Peruvian BSOs supporting exporters, such as Promperú, the national export promotion agency, and ADEX, the association of Peruvian exporters.

For more information, please contact Mr Erik Plaisier, programme manager, eplaisier@cbi.eu.