Small Businesses Adapting to Rapidly Changing Economic Landscape, Study Finds

– • A new study by World Economic Forum finds that previous disadvantages can lead to new opportunities for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) – • Report highlights how SMEs can leverage their size, networks, people and technology to support sustainable growth, positive societal impact and robust adaptive capacity – • Report was developed in collaboration with the National University of Singapore Business School…

Businesses that implement technology have higher productivity and generate more profits, according to IFC report



The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has published the report “Digital Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Central America,” a study on the digital ecosystem in the region, with a focus on Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Costa Rica. Prepared in collaboration with the Regional Center for the Promotion of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (CENPROMYPE), the document reveals the opportunities for digital transformation in Central America, the challenges it faces, and the potential of this digitalization to attract investment and generate jobs.


Presented at a panel sponsored by the Central American Institute of Business Administration (INCAE), the results of the study are encouraging: Central American companies are eager to go digital and see e-commerce, financial technology, and robotics as especially transformative for their companies in the next decade. The report also confirms that technology implementation is key for business: companies that implement technology in their operations have higher productivity and generate more profits.


To build a solid entrepreneurial ecosystem, the study points out that greater coordination and participation of the public and private sectors, having adequate regulations and facilitating access to financing for technology companies, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and women entrepreneurs are essential. 


“Companies want to go digital, even more so after the COVID-19 pandemic, but not all have the opportunity to do so because they do not have access to resources.  It is important to work with the financial sector to mobilize innovative funds and tools to the private sector, and especially to small businesses,” said Sanaa Abouzaid, IFC Regional Manager for Central America. We are confident that this report can help guide the path of the digital revolution in the region,“ she added.


David Cabrera, Executive Director of Cenpromype, indicated that ”it is necessary that we take advantage of the mechanisms that integration gives us to make visible and to strengthen institutional efforts, programs, and actions aimed at giving added value to the production of MSMEs, considering processes that allow the generation of new products or services, improvement of management or organizational processes, or improvements in marketing strategies”


This is confirmed by the report: bureaucracy, access to financing, lack of information about technologies, limited technological skills among the workforce, the lack of national and regional strategies that promote e-commerce, and the lack of a more agile and friendly regulatory framework, are some of the barriers that slow down the digital transformation in Central America. On the other hand, it highlights opportunities to enhance the digital ecosystem, such as promoting a digital transformation strategy and e-commerce, promoting greater participation of women in the technology sector, increasing collaboration between the public and private sectors, and promoting alliances between the supply and demand of technology.


For this study, surveys were conducted with more than 2,000 companies from a variety of key sectors in Central America, including the technology, education, agricultural and tourism sectors, and a multitude of small and medium-sized enterprises.


The panel presentation of the report, moderated by Camelia Ilie, Dean of Executive Education and Strategic Innovation of INCAE, was attended by senior representatives of the public and private sector, including the Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce of Costa Rica, Victoria Hernandez; IFC Senior Vice President of Operations Stephanie von Friedeburg; IFC Central America Manager Sanaa Abouzaid; the Managing Partner of the Salvadoran investment fund, Innogen Capital, Fernando Morán. 


The report is available at:  http://wrld.bg/ILvr50H0iWw

 

About IFC

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the world’s largest private sector-focused development institution in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, experience and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2021, IFC committed a record $31.5 trillion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, harnessing the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit https://www.ifc.org.

 

About Cenpromype

Within the framework of the Central American Integration System (SICA), CENPROMYPE seeks the integral development of entrepreneurs through the opportunities offered by regional, social and economic integration.


CENPROMYPE designs mechanisms that promote commercial exchange, model regional policies, aligned with the reality of countries, strengthening their potential and articulate the interests of public and private entities that provide business development services.


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Top 5 Home Based Businesses to Set Up in 2021

810,000 people in the UK have lost their jobs since the pandemic hit the country in March, 2020. An additional 5 million remain in furlough.

Businesses, reeling under the pressures of pandemic lockdown, have laid-off workers to save their own future. While the situation looks bleak for now, businesses are hopeful of bouncing back with a vengeance once the lockdown restrictions are lifted.

A disproportionate number of unemployed will continue to find it challenging to find a job that matches their skill sets. So, what does this mean for them.

For one, it can mean an incredible blessing in disguise.

Everywhere, there’s ample evidence of businesses that survived, even thrived, under lockdown, thanks to their unconventional approach to business.

If you’ve long nurtured a dream of entrepreneurship, then utilize this opportunity to give those dreams wings. Let Photobooths.co.uk help you with some business ideas that you can explore now, right from your own home.

1. Health and Wellness Expert
COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for UK citizens to physically visit doctors. For them, telemedicine has been a godsend. Doctors are offering their services remotely over text, video chats and phone calls, thus ensuring timely care to patients.

But, it’s not just the doctors who can do this. Nutritionists, gym coaches, Pilates instructors, yoga tutors…the list goes on. People stuck at home are looking for online help to keep their health in top shape. Help them, and you have a booming business right there for yourself.

2. A Tutor
Parents are worried that their children are missing out on crucial learning continuity, despite virtual classes. And, they are looking for reputed tutors who can help maintain the learning momentum of their kids.

Depending on your skills, you can offer classes to high school students, primary students, or even college students. Explore your academic skills, be it in English, History, Maths, Physics, or any other subject of your choice. There are endless online tutoring solutions to help you jump right into the game.

3. Marketing Consultant
If you have a sound background in marketing and can help startups and small businesses launch, penetrate markets and grow skillfully, then this job can be right up your alley. Marketing consultants get hefty salaries because effective marketers are always in high demand. So, if you can build a decent portfolio, you’ll be a successful marketing consultant in no time at all.

4. Drop-shipping Business
Continuing from the previous point: if you’re good at something, why do it for someone else.

Put your marketing skills to the best use by launching a drop-shipping business. You buy niche products in bulk from a supplier, usually an offshore manufacturer, and sell them here in the UK. You can set up your shop on marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy, or launch your own online store. With a drop-shipping business, you outsource all logistics to your supplier, and you handle marketing, finance, customer support, and other areas.

5. Photobooth Hire Business
Photobooths are still a craze. Restaurants, cafes, event venues, photo studios, malls…they are everywhere. There’s a fast-growing section of people who love to host parties and offer robot photobooths, Magic Mirrors and Pods to their guests. They are fun, exciting, and amazing crowd-pullers.

Portable photobooths, featuring touchscreens, DLSR cameras, and other bells and whistles are becoming much more popular. They are easy to carry, and don’t take up much space, so your customers may carry them and return by themselves with ease.