Sponsors and Support Institutions

AVINA Foundation

AVINA is a result of the reflection and vision of the Swiss businessman Stephan Schmidheiny about the need to put into practice the principles of sustainable development.

Schmidheiny founded AVINA in 1994, continuing a long family tradition of philanthropy. In the middle of the 1980s, he created FUNDES, an organization that supports the small and medium businessman in various Latin American countries. En 1991 he was named Principal Advisor for Businesses and Industries for the United Nations Secretary General during the Conference over Environment and Development, the Earth Summit, celebrated in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. To fulfill his mandate, he founded the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), an entity that now brings together 150 prestigious international businesses committed to development and the environment.

AVINA Foundation's financial resources come from the personal patrimony of Stephan Schmidheiny, who to date, has invested over $200 million in this philanthropic project. http://www.avina.net/

Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE)

The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) has been the most influential financial institution in the stimulation of the region's economic growth and development. It was established as part of the process of Central American Integration in 1960 with a mission to assist the Central American public and private sectors in attaining external resources to promote regional development. By looking to international capital markets and assuming countries' risk, the BCIE has attracted external financing for a multitude of financial assistance and technical projects. These programs have improved and developed the energy, telecommunications, transport and agriculture sectors of the region, as well as human resources, housing, tourism, social development and environmental conservation.

One of the transcendental projects financed by the BCIE was the development of Central America in the 21st Century: Agenda for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development, a broad policy framework for the region and for each individual country. The BCIE entrusted the agenda's elaboration to CLACDS and HIID. http://www.bcie.org/

INWENT

Is an organization dedicated to the development of human resources, continuous formation and international-level dialogue.

It arose from a merger between the Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft (CDG) and the German Foundation for International Development (DSE) and takes advantage of its various decades of experience in international cooperation.

Its practical orientation programs are directed at technical personnel and executives, as well as directors of economy, policies, public administration and civil society throughout the world. Through its Development Policies forum, it organizes a high level international political dialogue about current themes in development policies.

The objectives are: the growth of sustainable development at the social, economic and ecological level around the world, contribution to a structural policy and global peace and qualification of young professionals and executives to serve in an international and intercultural environment. http://www.inwent.org/

IDB

The Inter-American Development Bank is the largest and oldest regional development institution. It was established in December 1959 with the purpose of contributing to the stimulation of economic and social progress in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In its 42 years of activity, the Bank has transformed into an import catalyst for the mobilization of resources towards the region. Its Constitutive Agreement establishes that the institution's principal functions are using its own capital, the resources it obtains in the financial markets and other available funds to finance development of its borrowing member countries; complement private investment when private capital is unavailable on reasonable terms and conditions; and provide technical assistance for the preparation, financing and execution of development projects. http://www.iadb.org/

World Bank

The World Bank Group, founded in 1944, is comprised of five affiliated institutions. Its mission is to combat poverty to obtain lasting results and help people to help themselves and the environment surrounding them, providing resources, sharing knowledge, creating capacity, and forging associations in the public and private sectors.

With its seat in Washington, the Bank has offices in 100 countries, and counts on approximately 10,600 employees. James D. Wolfensohn is the President of the of the World Bank Group's five institutions. The World Bank Group is the principal provider of development assistance. In 2000, the institution granted over $15 billion in loans to its client countries. http://www.bancomundial.org/

UNDP

As Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the UNDP said:
"The United Nations Development Program is, in the United Nations system, the principal source for consultation, promotion and subsidies in all matters concerning development. The UNDP has offices in 132 countries and for a long period of time has enjoyed the confidence of governments and non-governmental organizations in many parts of the developing world, as well as the developed. It is considered an ally and not an adversary, and its commitment favoring a universal presence has been especially useful in post-conflict situations and in States, that in one way or another, have been isolated from the international community."

The UNDP has six spheres of priorities: democratic governability, poverty reduction, crisis prevention and recovery, energy and the environment, information and communications technology and AIDS/HIV. Furthermore, it promotes South-South cooperation and the full exercise of women's rights. http://www.undp.org

TINKER

Edward Laroque Tinker established the Tinker Foundation in 1959. Its objective is working on projects that promote the exchange of information on matters concerning Spain, Portugal and Latin America. Antarctica was recently included in the geographic action area. Environmental, political and governmental policies are its area of work. http://fdncenter.org/grantmaker/tinker

PRONACOM

The National Competitive Program, created in May 1998, was formally established by the Governmental Agreement 942-99. It is led by the Vice President of the Republic, coordinated within the public sector by the Economy Ministry and a business sector representative serves as an adjunct coordinator.

The Executive Direction is the executing unit responsible for this Program and is in charge of the implementation of activities of each of the Program's components: Business Climate, Clusters, and Support for Businesses.

In its initial phase, PRONACOM received financing from the Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development, CLACDS, of INCAE and later was granted a national budget, received contributions from the business sector, and a Japanese donation administered by the World Bank. It currently manages a loan of $20.3 million with the World Bank, designed to support implementation of all the Program's initiatives. http://www.pronacom.com/

FUSADES

The Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES) is a private, apolitical, non-profit organization created in 1983 with the mission of: To be a think tank and research center with high credibility, that promotes economic and social progress of all Salvadorans, through sustainable development, in a system of democracy and individual liberties.

FUSADES functions as a Center for Studies and Research and as a facilitator of development, which channels business and social promotion services through its programs, and strengthens the development of the country's productive activities.

The activities of FUSADES are financed by the contributions of its founding members and national and international organizations, as well as by its own generation of funds. http://www.fusades.com.sv/

FIDE

The Foundation for Investment and Development of Exports (FIDE) is a private non-profit organization. It was created in 1984 to promote investment in Honduras, support export development and work closely with the government and other private organizations to promote and design new legislation aimed at improving the country's business climate.

Its mission is to encourage sustainable development in Honduras via investment and exports by continually improving the international competitiveness of the country and its companies

FIDE offers a series of programs and activities that provide local and foreign investors with a wide range of services for developing new investments or expansions, strategic alliances and business opportunities. http://www.hondurasinfo.hn/

National Competitiveness Program, Nicaragua

Nicaragua's Competitiveness Agenda is an expression of the "Central American Competitiveness Agenda for the 21st Century," in search of concrete proposals to find greater prosperity and equity for the country in a regional context.

The agenda's objective is to raise the country's competitiveness to obtain the greatest well-being possible for all Nicaraguans. From this perspective, productivity is understood as a key element in achieving sustainable economic progress, or in other words, economic progress that is capable of progressively raising the standard of living for all of the country's inhabitants.

Nicaragua's reality demands that the country develop its productive sectors as a fundamental requirement to achieve the well being of its inhabitants. . http://www.agenda21.org.ni/

National Competitiveness Program, Costa Rica

To reduce poverty and improve the quality of life for Costa Rican, it is necessary to stimulate the country's competitiveness to generate greater productivity, more employee and rising salaries, among other things. Therefore, the National Competitiveness Council was established, whose coordination will be directed by the Economy, Industry and Trade Ministry.

The National Competitiveness Council's functions are: recommending to the Executive Power the national strategy for competitiveness, its plan and work agenda; naming sub-commissions for the study of areas the Council assigns; and in the warranted cases, receiving documents from the sub-commissions and supporting and stimulation the subcommittees' actions. http://www.meic.go.cr/

National Competitiveness Council, Ecuador

Through Executive Decree on July 6, 2001, the National Competitiveness Council (CNC) was re-launched. This entity is responsible for establishing strategies and actions for the strengthening of the country's competitiveness through implementation of the National Competitiveness Agenda.

The strategy to convert Ecuador into a competitive country arose in 2001 with the formulation and diffusion of the National Competitiveness Agenda, designed and discussed over five months in diverse forums and workshops, among the National Congress, ministers of State, university deans, academic sectors, municipalities, chambers of production, unions, and businesspeople, covering the majority of provinces. The objectives were to achieve credibility, agreement, diffusion and awareness of competitiveness and the institutionalization and formalization of the project. . http://www.vistazo.com/competitividad/

Andean Development Corporation

The Andean Development Corporation (CAF) is a multilateral financial institution whose mission is to support sustainable development in shareholder countries, as well as regional integration. It is dedicated to the public and private sector, administering products and multiple financial services to wide range of clients comprised of governments of shareholder States, financial institutions and private and public companies. It integrates social and environmental values in its management policies and includes eco-efficiency and sustainability among its operating criteria.

CAF has maintained a permanent presence in its shareholder countries, allowing it to consolidate its regional leadership in effective resource mobilization. Currently, it is the principal source of multilateral financing for the countries in the Andean Community, supporting them in the last decade with over 40% of the resources awarded by multilateral organizations. http://www.caf.com/