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OAS and Honduras Launch Initiative for Entrepreneurs, MSMEs and the Social Sector to Access Electronic Commerce

The Government of Honduras, through the National Service for Entrepreneurship and Small Business (SENPRENDE), and the Organization of American States (OAS), with the support of Kolau, today launched a plan that allows entrepreneurs, MSMEs and the sector social economy to register their companies on the internet completely free and in less than 15 minutes, and thus gain access to the benefits of electronic commerce. In its first phase, the program expects to benefit about 15,000 entrepreneurs.

The initiative allows MSMEs to access electronic commerce easily and free of charge. The "OAS Plan for MSME Digitalization" is available to all micro and small companies in the country, as well as to any entrepreneur, regardless of whether or not they are formalized. Through digitization and foray into electronic commerce, it is intended that non-formalized companies become professionalized and formalized.

The Digitization Plan has been implemented by the OAS, with Kolau's technical support, in different Latin American and Caribbean countries. So far, nearly 60,000 entrepreneurs have benefited in El Salvador, Chile, Paraguay, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and Colombia.

The initiative, which seeks to support entrepreneurs in the strategic use of technologies and contribute to closing the digital divide, is especially relevant in the current context, in which the COVID 19 pandemic has impacted online consumer habits, forcing entrepreneurs and businesses to find innovative ways to offer their goods and services.

During the presentation of the initiative, the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, noted that the "OAS Plan for MSME Digitalization is a key tool for companies to access electronic commerce and face the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. We congratulate the Honduran government for this initiative.”

The Government of Honduras recently installed different working groups to deal with COVID 19. The OAS Plan for SMSEs Digitalization is part of the resolutions of the "Working group on MSMEs". In this regard, the Minister Director of SENPRENDE, Luis Colindres reported that "we are very happy with the results of the MSME working group, thanks to this hard work, entrepreneurs will be able to count on this opportunity to sell their services and good online, for free, the time is NOW.”

“Honduran consumers are buying not only medium-high-priced products or services online, but also daily goods, such as food and grocery products. All companies benefit from offering their customers the possibility to pay through their website, regardless of their industry or the price of their products,” said Daniel Sánchez Mola, CEO of Kolau.

Any Honduran company and/or entrepreneur can access this opportunity by registering at: Emprendeguia.senprende.hn, connected to the www.kolau.es/honduras page, a smart page can be created in less than 15 minutes. Access to the "OAS Plan for MSME Digitalization" has no cost and is accompanied by digital and face-to-face workshops. They also have access to specialized support.

Kolau is the first digital marketing platform designed especially for MSMEs and that seeks to break through barriers by offering the possibility of doing digitalization procedures directly by the entrepreneur instead of using experts.

Reference: E-040/20