Helping Small Businesses Grow in El Salvador .

The program, which is implemented by Chemonics, seeks to grow the economy of El Salvador by focusing on micro- and small businesses, like SEMPROFES. To do this, the project looked for a model that had proven useful to micro-entrepreneurs elsewhere. It found this model in a U.S. small business assistance network called America’s SBDC.

Using a unique mix of government funds and private sector resources, America’s SBDC assists partner organizations in hosting small business development centers. These partners, such as universities, offer free consulting and low-cost courses on topics like writing a business plan or conducting market research. This strategy was promising because it offered El Salvador a way to establish more centers quickly, by embedding them in willing organizations.

To take advantage of this model, the USAID program facilitated a partnership between America’s SBDC and CONAMYPE. Ileana Rogel, executive director of CONAMYPE, explained how the Salvadoran commission worked with America’s SBDC.

“We had the opportunity to see the SBDC model implemented by the University of San Antonio, Texas, and learn about the role the university plays. In a period of about six months, we learned more about how the model works and we found interest from possible operators in El Salvador. We sent a group from CONAMYPE to San Antonio to experience the day-to-day of how an SBDC works. Then we brought down all the documents and manuals to adapt them to the Salvadoran context.”

Now, there are 12 small business development centers across El Salvador, which have helped to generate $41.6 million in sales and create 11,400 jobs since 2012.

Marisol Ramírez, who runs a handicrafts enterprise called ACOPROARTE, is one of these success stories. Marisol learned about developing new products, entering new markets, and creating investment and marketing plans at a center in Cayaguanca.

“With support from the small business development center, we’re growing and have the opportunity to employ more people. We have hired up to 150 people when we have orders from abroad and our sales have increased by around 20 percent,” Marisol said. CONAMYPE is helping to spread the small business development center model to other countries in Central America and to create an international network. Executive Director Ileana Rogel sees the program as an important way to grow the economy so that fewer Salvadorans emigrate in search of jobs.

“We believe that investing and receiving support from the United States to strengthen this model can be useful to stem the migration flow,” she said.