COMPETE - Trade empowerment of women-led SMEs in the Andean region

This project aims to reduce poverty by increasing the economic well-being of women-managed or owned Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) located in poorer rural and more remote areas outside of capital cities in Bolivia Colombia Ecuador and Peru. COMPETE seeks to build the capacity of local Trade support institutions to deliver gender-responsive services and support and women-owned or led SMEs to expand trade relationships with established Canadian buyers. Project activities include: (1) facilitating “Train the trainer” workshops on exporting to Canada including information on consumer demands and export readiness; (2) conducting local market research on selected sectors to support women-owned or led SMEs participation to enter the Canadian market; (3) providing training to women-owned or led SMEs on export financing; (4) coordinating knowledge-sharing opportunities to connect SMEs with experience in export finance with SMEs beneficiaries; and (5) providing coaching to export-ready women owned or led SMEs to improve their export offers and respond to Canadian market demands.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) improved effectiveness of trade support institutions in the Andean region. This is to provide safe equitable and gender-responsive services and training to women-owned or led SMEs in disadvantaged areas on export readiness digital technologies and environmental social and governance (ESG) standards; (2) enhanced export readiness of women-owned or led SMEs in disadvantaged areas using digital technologies in sustainable business models that comply with ESG standards and align with the Canadian market; and (3) expanded sustainable trade relationships between women-owned or led SMEs in disadvantaged areas and Canadian importers focusing on networking and equitable gender-responsive market access opportunities.