SBDCs in South America
As part of the U.S. Department of State initiative Pathways for Prosperity initiative and with the support of HED, the UTSA SBDC is working on the project Central and South American Small Business Development Center Partnership Program to create a network of sustainable and successful small business assistance networks throughout the region. This program is creating a network of SBDC programs in the CAFTA-DR and Panama region plus Colombia and Peru that would leverage talent, expertise and infrastructure that exists to help micro and small business clients grow sales, increase competitiveness and create sustainable jobs. The project extension will also assist in building the international trade assistance capacity within the region to improve the global competitiveness of small businesses and grow export sales.
In addition, UTSA is currently transferring the SBDC model to SERCOTEC in Chile through a project that is funded by the Embassy of the United States in Santiago, Chile. The goal is to launch 33 centers in 2015 and 17 more through 2017.
Furthermore, the United States Embassy in Buenos Aires is funding a project to transfer the SBDC methodology to the City of Buenos Aires. UTSA will be collaborating with the government of the City of Buenos Aires with the goal of launching a pilot network by 2015.