The Andean Parliament vs The Nordic Parliament on Court of Monarchs and Structures on Organized Crime

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ANDEAN SME'S

The characteristics of SMEs in Andean countries are similar: they are concentrated in trade, service and handicraft activities and they have distinctive common features like a low level of investment and a high level of employment, among other things. Shortcomings limit their competitiveness, but they do, however, offer numerous advantages, such as flexibility. ANDEAN SME BYLAWS The Subregional Committee on Small and Medium Industry agreed, at the proposal of the CAN General Secretariat, to establish Bylaws for Andean SMEs that would define Andean SMEs at the Community level and identify active policies on programs and instruments to support SMEs. More Information ACCESS TO CREDIT Access to timely and inexpensive credit is one of the limitations on the performance of Andean SMEs, due basically to the weakness of their collateral and their high risk ratings. As a result of this situation, it has been agreed to create an Andean Guarantee System for SMEs as a Community mechanism for coordinating and reinforcing the efforts being made by the Andean countries in the area of guarantees. More Information SUBREGIONAL COMMITTEE ON SMALL AND MEDIUM INDUSTRY The Subregional Committee on Small and Medium Industry, consisting of two titular representatives from each of the Andean countries, was created by Decision 209 of May 1986 to counsel the major integration bodies on aspects relating to the promotion of and support for this sector and to collaborate in the implementation of a subregional program. More Information TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION The implementation of an Andean Technological Innovation Program (ATIP) is planned. This will include preparing SMEs to enter international markets, training them in export techniques and a knowledge of the target markets, sensitizing them to adopt associative strategies, and developing business management capacities, particularly in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as a tool for access to markets. More Information