Course
Unlock the power of financial skills to grow your business. Whether you’re just starting out or ready to scale, strengthening your company’s financial foundation is key to sustainable growth. Inclusive Finance for SMEs, developed by ConnectAmericas, is a practical and accessible course designed to help micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises improve their financial management, gain tools to evaluate business performance, and explore financing options aligned with their needs. Through interactive content and real-life case studies, you’ll learn how to read and use financial statements, manage resources, apply financial ratios and KPIs to guide decision-making, and evaluate funding alternatives—from traditional loans to innovative mechanisms like crowdfunding and factoring. You'll also gain insights on how to prepare for debt or equity financing and how to position your business to attract investors. Additionally, the course will help you navigate digital tools and platforms that facilitate access to finance and allow you to identify the right opportunities for your company. Plus, you’ll also have the opportunity to explore an optional module dedicated to women entrepreneurs, which explores the unique barriers they face in accessing finance and suggest strategies to overcome them. Get ready to take control of your business finances, build financial resilience, and unlock new growth opportunities—starting today. Webinar
Registro al cursoSi su institución o equipo de proyecto desea realizar este curso, por favor, contacte con alguno de nuestros Ecuational Providers (EP) con los que podrá coordinar la impartición del curso. Los pasos para realizar su inscripción, son los siguientes:1. Junta tu equipo de proyecto para realizar la solicitud (Sugerimos un mínimos de 5 integrantes por equipo)2. Revisa el perfil de nuestros EP que se detallan a continuación.3. Contacta con el EP con el que deseas realizar la capacitación, indicándole la siguiente información:Fechas en las que deseas tener la capacitación.Número de equipos de proyecto y número de personas por equipo.País de la organización e idioma en el que deseas realizar el curso.4. Tú equipo ya está listo para mejorar sus habilidades en Gestión en Proyectos!Educational Providers (EP)A continuación podrá ver la información de nuestras empresas afiliadas y sus datos de contacto. Podrá contactar con ellos para cualquier duda respecto a la impartición del curso. GestumTotal| Contacto | Doing Global| Contacto |Systrategum | Contacto | El curso tiene como objetivo presentar las herramientas modernas de planificación y gestión de proyectos de desarrollo e impacto social/ambiental con base a las mejores prácticas internacionales (PMI y el Prince2). El programa está dirigido a equipos de proyecto y, por ende, la inscripción debe realizarse por equipos, no de forma individual. El curso de Certificación PM4R Professional fue diseñado y organizado por el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) como parte de la iniciativa de Gestión de Proyectos para Resultados (PM4R), orientado a mejorar las competencias en gestión de proyectos de los equipos constituidos por los miembros de las agencias ejecutoras y miembros de los órganos de enlace.Se espera que esta capacitación fortalezca tus facultades de planificación y gerencia de proyectos y las de tu equipo. Con ello se busca que los programas bajo tu responsabilidad se ejecuten con un enfoque en resultados y considerando los riesgos identificados a través de la aplicación de prácticas y herramientas probadas de la gestión de proyectos.El curso tiene una duración de 7 semanas virtuales integrada por 5 módulos de aprendizaje. Éstos, a su vez, se estructuran en unidades, cuyos contenidos se refuerzan con una serie de actividades individuales y grupales que realizarás con el acompañamiento de un tutor. El Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) como parte de su práctica de “conocimiento abierto” pone a disposición sin costo a las personas interesadas en realizar este curso, los materiales y la metodología. El BID no se hace responsable: i) del establecimiento de tarifas y los acuerdos económicos que se alcancen con el EP para la impartición del curso, y ii) la coordinación del curso y el desempeño de los trainers. El EP es el responsable de fijar los emolumentos en base a su experiencia y al esfuerzo que conlleve la impartición de la formación, estando el BID al margen de estos acuerdos. El BID evaluará el desempeño de los EP en base a una encuesta de evaluación final. Duración: 7 semanasMínimo esfuerzo requerido: 50 horas por curso Valor: Concretar con el EP. Nivel: Intermedio / Avanzado Idiomas: Español, inglés, portugués y Francés Estructura del curso Módulo 1. Acta De Constitución Del Proyecto Y Edt Módulo 2. Cronograma Módulo 3. Curva S Y Matriz De Adquisiciones Módulo 4. Matriz De Riesgos Y Matriz De Comunicaciones Módulo 5. Matriz De Asignación De Responsabilidades Y Gestión Del Valor GanadoObjetivosAl finalizar el curso, los participantes deberían ser capaces de:Identificar los Siete (7) Pasos de la Metodología del PM4R.Explicar los diferentes procesos para el desarrollo de los Siete (7) Pasos de la metodología del PM4R.Aplicar los Siete (7) Pasos de la Metodología del PM4R en la gestión de sus proyectos de desarrollo.Demostrar un compromiso personal para lograr los objetivos del equipo. Webinar
The architecture and engineering services sectors are rapidly globalizing, driven by traditional outsourcing advantages and the international market aspirations of the client base. An estimated 20% of U.S. architecture firms outsource a portion of their workload; a figure that is likely understated. The trend is on the rise due to advantages like workload smoothing, increased access to qualified and specialized professionals, cost reduction, and expedited delivery. Meanwhile, as architecture and engineering clients increasingly look to enter new international markets, the global service providers follow the demand, establishing new offices and captive centers in emerging destinations. Both the U.S. and India have demonstrated strong interest in Latin America in order to reach local and multinational clients, find local partners, and expand operations through captive centers and regional bases of operations. In light of this trend, this session will examine the particular strengths and challenges of Latin America as a base for regional and global ASO and ESO. Moderator: Gerardo Funes, Integration and Trade Consultant, Inter-American Development Bank Speakers: Hilario Canessa, CEO, Studio 4D Rahul Singh, Head of Global Delivery Center Operation, Administrations, Global Advocacy & Government Affairs, HCL Technologies Webinar
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) global service providers comprise a maturing and multifaceted sector, long offering great promise and today manifesting impressive results. A region of great intrinsic opportunity, LAC participants in this global marketplace benefit not only from natural advantages like location, language and cultural affinity, but also an entrepreneurial spirit and many supportive governments determined to optimize their participation in a dynamic industry. Compared to more consolidated powerhouses like India and the Philippines, large players like China and Russia that offer unparalleled scale, and European platforms with human capital and business climate advantages, LAC has one underappreciated competitive advantage – its emergent status combined with high levels of global connectivity and access to information endows the region with the ability to learn from successes across the globe and adapt dexterously to a dynamic business landscape. The companies and clusters that have propelled those cities – notably San José as the top-ranked city in the Americas in 2016 – also provide noteworthy best practices to providers across the globe. This panel offers one such opportunity for productive dialogue and inter-regional comparison and learning. Moderator: John Biggs, East Coast Editor, TechCrunch Speakers: Avinash Vashistha, Chairman and CEO of Tholons Inc. and Former Chairman and Country Managing Director- India of Accenture Services B.V. Naidu, Chairman of Sagitaur and Co-Chairman of Karnataka ICT Group (Bangalore) Charles Aird, Global Leader of the PwC Shared Services and Outsourcing Advisory and Business Transformation, PwC Webinar
The rapid development and proliferation of personal computers, tablets, and mobile devices has made animation and gaming available to the masses, and as a result, this is one of the fastest growing market segments. While global Animation and Gaming achieved revenues of USD 122 billion in 2010, it was estimated to have nearly doubled (USD 243 billion) by 2016. Over that period, Gaming has been the fastest growing market year-on-year, registering annualized growth of nearly 14%, while Animation has achieved annualized growth of 12.5% from 2011 to 2016. In recent years, LAC became a leading player on the global market, registering higher growth than any other region in the world. In particular, the increase in demand for mobile games has bolstered LAC’s success as a mecca for game developers and start-ups. This session reviews the latest trends, and explores the great potential of this dynamic segment for countries with strong creative industries and technical talent. Moderator: Sandra Quintero, Owner, SANQUI Digital Speakers: Todd Ramsay, Owner & Creative Director, Yeti Farm Creative María Martina Santoro, Co-Founder & CEO, Okam Studio Webinar
The globalization of healthcare and related services has had a wide-reaching impact on the global services sector. From records management to medical tourism, it is one of the most cross-cutting outsourcing fields, requiring a diversity of human resources and ripe for new innovations. Healthcare BPO, already a USD 170 billion market in 2016, continues to grow above 10% annually. Some of the most high-tech and promising emergent specialties are in the areas of nano- and biotechnology. Global pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing companies increasingly rely on specialized clinical and preclinical research, and customized bio-manufacturing. As a result, the biotechnology services outsourcing market is expected to reach USD 92.9 billion by 2025 (Grand View Research). Breakthrough technologies like gene editing, immunotherapy, nanotechnology, and big data are all expected to have a big impact on the direction of this sector in the coming years. In this groundbreaking growth market, how is the LAC region developing and promoting its capabilities to deliver innovative, specialized, and secure health services? Moderator: Massimo Manzi, Executive Director of the Council for the International Promotion of Costa Rica Medicine - PROMED Speakers: Gabriela Couto, CEO of Marketplaza and President of the CR Biomed Cluster Ricardo Salazar, Head, Government and Public Affairs & Advocacy for Latin America, Sanofi KP Bannanje, Senior Director - Consulting Services, Neusoft America Webinar
The “sharing economy” is not a sector, but rather a new delivery model that will have an impact across all services. While typically services outsourcing previously required high-level outreach and negotiations to build a B2B relationship between companies, outsourcing of services can now be implemented nearly instantaneously and to individuals as well as businesses. The biggest successes in this space to date are among those early adopters who created the platforms on which resources and information are pooled and parceled out according to demand. These include, of course, notable market-makers Uber (in local transportation) and AirBnB (in housing rentals). Driving this trend is the push for operational efficiency and scalability, the rapid proliferation of mobile technology, and evolving labor practices. While new platforms spring up to implement the sharing model in seemingly every niche of the economy, perhaps the greatest new opportunities lie in partnerships, e.g., food delivery services that leverage the existing network of Uber transportation to fulfill deliveries. Understanding the role of sharing in the future economy is ‘key’ to ensuring value chain integration from initial software development to implementation in new locations. Moderator: Luiz Ros, Special Advisor for Innovation Digital Economy Initiative, Office of the Presidency, InterAmerican Development Bank Speakers: Shawn Sullivan, Public Policy lead for Central America and the Caribbean, AirBnB Inc. Ivo Côrrea, Policy Director for CA & Caribbean, Uber Technologies Inc. Webinar
The IDB has been a key partner in the development of the global services sector in Latin America and the Caribbean. On the one hand, IDB’s programs and partnerships that have supported the sector’s rapid growth in the region will be highlighted, with a focus on targeted human capital development initiatives known as ‘finishing schools’. On the other hand, the role of ConnectAmericas will be underlined as the first social network for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Americas, which includes a ‘Global Services’ networking community that promotes outsourcing and offshoring business opportunities and assesses trends and information for SMEs specialized in the ITO/BPO/KPO industry sectors in the region. Speaker and Moderator: Fabrizio Opertti, Division Chief, Trade and Investment Division, Inter-American Development Bank Speakers: “Finishing Schools” Business Case #1: Ximena Stawsky, Head of Andean Cluster & Demand Planning Latam, Merck Group Uruguay“Finishing Schools” Business Case #2: Manuel Gordo Juliá, CEO of Allied Global Guatemala Webinar
Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality technologies promise to harness today’s computing power to achieve scale, accuracy, and speed improvements at an exponential rate. There are efficiency and quality improvements to be made, but what are the trade-offs? On this panel, experts from cutting edge companies weigh in: What are the sectors in which these new technologies are currently being implemented and what are the challenges and opportunities that they are presenting? How can providers keep up with the computing advances (machine vision, speech recognition, natural language processing, machine learning) that may require substantial technology upgrades and replacements. How can we accelerate up-skilling of labor to keep up with rapid technology development? Evidently, as automated processes learn and adapt to change, so must Latin American and Caribbean service providers. Moderator: Vitaly Golomb, Investor & Global Startup Evangelist, HP Tech Ventures Speakers: Frank Casale, Founder & CEO, The Institute for Robotic Process Automation Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, Director of the Emerging Analytics Center, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Avinash Vashistha, Chairman and CEO of Tholons Inc. and Former Chairman and Country Managing Director- India of Accenture Services Course
Introduction to the Course Welcome to the FINPYME Integrity MOOC on Business Ethics for SMEs. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered the engine of economic growth around the world. They account for almost ninety percent of all global businesses and employ approximately sixty percent of the global workforce. They are key drivers of domestic employment and revenue growth provided that they can operate and innovate in open, transparent business environments. In emerging market economies, the costs of corruption and unethical business practices are very high – they divert company resources from value-creating activities and deter much needed investment. SME’s are particularly vulnerable to these impacts and therefore have much to gain by contributing to an ethical business environment. Business ethics refers to the application of ethical principles and values in a business setting. It involves the adoption of business polices and practices that promote the ethical conduct of individuals and organizations. However, ethical business conduct goes above and beyond mere legal and regulatory compliance; it requires a commitment to the principles of honesty, fairness, integrity, transparency and accountability in all business decisions, particularly those that affect stakeholders. Responsible companies demonstrate this commitment through a structured and systematic approach to developing an ethical culture. This usually involves the development of a set of standards or a code grounded in the company’s values, the implementation of the organizational infrastructure to reinforce these values and an accountability system that is based on transparency. These are the main components of a business ethics programme. This course provides SMEs with a roadmap for systematically developing a business ethics programme using the FINPYME Integrity and Business Ethics Toolkit. Objectives: The objective of this course is to provide SMEs with a guide to enable them to develop their own business ethics program. By the end of this course, you should have developed an ethics program for your company or at the very least, identified the key elements necessary to build one with your team. This course will help you to answer the following questions: Why should an SME implement a business ethics program? How do I implement an ethics program given the business environment in which I operate? What aspects of business ethics should I focus on in my company? How do I engage and gain the support of others? How do I develop a code of ethics and align other business policies to this code? What training should be provided and to whom in order to embed the program in the company? By the end of this course, you will be able to: Understand the importance of business ethics to SMEs Appreciate the benefits of implementing a business ethics programme for your company Identify your organization’s key stakeholders and how they impact / are impacted by your organization Assess the ethical risks faced by your organization Develop a strategic vision for your organization that is grounded in ethical values Prepare your organization for implementing a business ethicsprogramme Develop the required organizational systems and processes needed for an effective ethics programme Design an implementation plan for your ethics programme Agenda and Methodology The course is divided into 7 modules. At the end of each course there is a short assessment to evaluate your understanding of the key concepts. To achieve a certificate at the end of the course, you must complete all the module assessments. The course is designed to be completed in four weeks if you can dedicate at least three and half hours per week. However, there is no time limit for completing the MOOC and participants can work at their own pace. The modules to be covered are: Business Ethics and SMEs Developing An Ethics Programme for Your Company Business Analysis Strategic Vision Preparing a Business Ethics Programme for Your Organization Internal Organization Implementation The course methodology combines: Short videos that highlight situations, key issues and content, as well as opinions of experts in the region. Selected readings that have the bulk of theoretical and conceptual elements of the course. Cases that allow for an appreciation of the realities facing Latin American and Caribbean businesses For questions or more information, contact us at this email: academy@connectamericas.com Course
Please, note that the videos are in Spanish but they have English subtitles available. To enable English subtitles, look for the “Closed Captioning” icon “CC” on the bottom bar and click on it. Customs administrations are currently faced with the challenge of dealing with the growing movement of goods and doing so on a stage that is full of global threats. For the global economy, and of course for the economy of our own region, participation in international trade is essential to continuous growth and to improving quality of life for our citizens. The Authorized Economic Operator program is the answer to this situation, offering a solution to these needs that is based on trust and cooperation. Through this program, companies associated with the international trade supply chain can obtain an Authorized Economic Operator certification that will enable them to act according to certain secure and effective criteria and to receive recognition and trust from customs authorities. If your company, no matter how large or small, is associated in some way with international trade, this course is for you. Throughout the course we will try to answer the following questions: What does it mean to be an AEO? What advantages will my company receive if it is AEO certified? What are the requirements I must fulfill? How do I access the program? After finishing the course with an overall score of 80% or higher, you will be able to request a participation certificate by sending an email to: academy@connectamericas.com Course
Digital media is changing at an incredible speed. This revolution has radically changed the way we interact and communicate. As a result, marketing and trade have entered a new era of opportunities. We are faced with a change that cannot be ignored. In this regard, the aim of this course is to provide basic knowledge on how to implement a digital marketing strategy and how to create an online business. If you want to learn the basics of how to market your products more effectively via digital platforms, you are in the right place. You will learn how to use the basic tools of digital marketing to differentiate yourself from the competition and secure a better positioning in the market. We will walk you through the process of discovering what strategies suit you best, depending on the goals you want to achieve. If, in addition to implementing these strategies, you want to sell your products online, you will find the guidelines and tools we will show you to help you set up your own online business very useful. If digital marketing and e-commerce are new for you, this course will help you acquire the know-how you need to take your first steps. By the end of the course, you will be able to answer the following questions: What are the latest trends in the digital world? Why is it important to define your target market in order to achieve good positioning? What are the main digital marketing strategies? Why is having a website so important? What tools exist for measuring results? How should I prepare a digital marketing plan? How can I create my own online business? For questions or more information, contact us at this email: academy@connectamericas.com