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[March 29, 2006]

MIF approves US$10mn SME innovation program

(BNamericas.com Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) has approved a US$10mn grant to support an information and communication technology (ICT) program for e-business and small and medium-sized enterprise development in Latin America, MIF parent organization, the Inter-American Development Bank, said in a statement.

The program, known as ICT4BUS-II, will consist of individual pilot projects executed by selected institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean with the objective of improving the competitiveness of SMEs in the region by expanding their access to innovative ICT solutions and services.

"We will achieve this by selecting and funding pilot projects, by creating a technology transfer facility and by disseminating the results," said MIF project team leader Antonio Ca' Zorzi.

A call for proposals will be issued in June 2006. Institutions involved in SME business development services or ICT development - including trade associations, universities, chambers of commerce, business development and research centers - will be able to participate and eventually act as executing agencies for the projects.

Over 2,400 SMEs are expected to participate in the pilot projects, and a larger number of companies will also benefit from the new services and solutions after the demonstration stage is completed.

"ICT's are a crucial factor in the productivity surge that developed countries have experienced since the 1990s," added Ca' Zorzi. "SMEs can now access software and services that until recently were the exclusive domain of large firms."

The ICT4BUS-II program will expand and incorporate the experience of the MIF's first ICT program, approved in July 2002, with US$5mn in grants, which demonstrated new possibilities in a real business environment, particularly in the areas of value chain integration, workplace productivity and efficiency and market penetration.

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