The Pacific Alliance Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forum expands its horizons to the European market.

October 7, 2024.- The Pacific Alliance announced the opening of the calls for the XI version of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forum LAB4+. The activity will take place from November 20 to 23, 2024 at the Bicentennial Park, Vitacura, in Santiago, Chile.

This year, under the pro tempore presidency of Chile, the Forum will be part of EtM Day, the largest innovation meeting in the region held annually in Santiago de Chile; and will seek to enhance the impact of service and innovation companies from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, and North America, expanding its reach to European markets.

LAB4+ has established itself as an iconic event for the export of services based on technology and innovation, being a key meeting point between entrepreneurs, investors, buyers and exporters of the 4.0 industry ecosystem of the member countries of the Pacific Alliance. This year, the link with the European ecosystem reinforces the Forum’s commitment to position the Alliance as a regional integration bloc that promotes entrepreneurship, innovation and trade in services.

About the activity

Organized by the Technical Group of Promotion Agencies of the Pacific Alliance (ProChile, ProColombia, Secretariat of Economy of Mexico and PromPerú), the LAB4+ Forum will offer a complete experience with four main components.

1. Academic Agenda/Conference Program: Experts from the innovation ecosystem and representatives from promotion agencies will share their knowledge on key topics for business development in the prioritized markets. In addition, there will be academic support for startups to prepare their pitches.

2. Orientation sessions: Leaders of companies in target sectors will present key aspects for doing business in the selected markets.

3. Business Roundtable: Exporting companies from the AP bloc will present their offer to international buyers, with the aim of generating effective business meetings.

4. Pitch Sessions: Startups from the AP block will present their innovations to major international investors, with a focus on sectors such as FinTech, HealthTech, AgriTech, EdTech, PropTech, among others.

Participation Process

Companies interested in participating in the Business Roundtable or Pitch Sessions must register through the official website of the event, completing the registration form before October 30. These registrations will be validated by the promotion agencies of each country and the selected companies will receive a confirmation email.

Registration and activities schedule

• Registration: October 1 to 30
• Validation and confirmation of companies: October 7 – November 8
• Scheduling of business appointments: October 14 to November 11
• Academic day: October 29th
• Startups/Pitch Qualifiers: November 4 to November 8
• LAB4+ Forum: November 20th to 23rd

This event promises to be a unique platform to strengthen business integration and innovation in the region, and explore new prioritized opportunities.

Communications PPT 2024 Pacific Alliance

• The three-day event was successfully concluded, where 102 exporters from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru had the opportunity to show their products to 52 importers from PA countries and markets such as North America, Europe and Asia.

July 11, 2024.- The XI Pacific Alliance (PA) Business Macro-Round, which took place between July 1 and 4 in Santiago, Chile, concluded successfully after three intense days of networking and business roundtables.

This commercial activity, which brought together exporters and importers from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, as well as the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Denmark, Sweden and Italy, once again demonstrated the bloc’s potential for economic and commercial cooperation.

During this event, 154 participating companies held 538 business meetings, with business projections estimated at US$ 55 million. The 102 registered exporters from the four participating countries had the opportunity to present their products to 52 interested importers, thus opening up new possibilities for intra-regional trade as well as trade with other markets in North America, Asia and Europe.

The general director of ProChile, Ignacio Fernández -whose institution leads the Technical Group of Promotion Agencies of the PA- together with the Undersecretary of International Economic Relations, Claudia Sanhueza, headed the Chilean delegation.

Representatives from PromPerú, ProColombia and the Mexican Ministry of Economy also participated actively, underlining each country’s commitment to strengthening the Pacific Alliance.

Ignacio Fernández, general director of ProChile -the General Directorate of Export Promotion under the Chilean Foreign Ministry- highlighted that “the results of this Pacific Alliance Business Macro-Round show that this type of platform is important for the bloc’s exporting companies and, especially, for SMEs. This year we saw a remarkable interest from international buyers in search of innovative and sustainable products, which reflects current trends in the global market, and where Chile and the other PA countries have a high value-added offer that can be internationalized thanks to intra-regional and international trade”.

The participation of PromPerú, ProColombia and the Ministry of Economy of Mexico was crucial for the success of the macro-round and for the fulfillment of the objectives set this year by the Pacific Alliance, which focus on supporting the increase in productivity, sustainability and inclusiveness of these countries, as well as incorporating micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to intraregional and international trade.

To reinforce these commitments, this macro-round-which had the slogan “Road to a sustainable offer”- included a discussion on “Advances and challenges in the Pacific Alliance” on issues of sustainable exportable supply, moderated by Nicolás Millán (co-founder of GetFair, a SaaS that allows measuring, analyzing and tracing impact under ESG standards) and where four PA SMEs were able to present their experiences.

The president of ProColombia, Carmen Caballero Villa, comments that “Colombia, as a megadiverse country, has great potential to become a major supplier of sustainable agro-industrial products. For this reason, ProColombia celebrated the participation of Colombian exporters of coffee, processed fruit, cosmetics and containers and packaging. It is important to highlight that sustainability was the main focus of the Pacific Alliance Macro-round, in which, apart from the business roundtable, we had a significant space to present our proposals to invited buyers from countries such as Korea, India, the United States and Canada. This generated a deeper vision of the offer of Colombia, the Country of Beauty, as a bloc, awakening considerable interest in strengthening trade relations”.

Claricia Tirado, executive president of PROMPERÚ, comments that “the Pacific Alliance Business Macro-Round has been a clear example of the successful collaborative work between our agencies. This event has not only strengthened trade ties between Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico, but has also facilitated a fruitful exchange of appointments and business opportunities. The participation of 15 Peruvian exporters, who positively represented the Peruvian supply of food, clothing and inputs for the industry, has significantly reinforced the expectations of many companies to scale their ventures and enable their products to participate in value chains at the international level.

For her part, the Ambassador of Mexico in Chile, Dr. Laura Moreno Rodríguez, shared that “Mexico has 14 free trade agreements with the world and the Pacific Alliance represents a trading partner that strengthens Mexican foreign trade. The XI Pacific Alliance Business Macro-Round has been an important platform for B2B business linkages; a space of maximum use for the important presence of Mexican companies. The Ministry of Economy, in coordination with the Embassy of Mexico, participated as operational representatives in the Technical Group of Promotion Agencies of the PA. We shared strategic information for doing business, showcasing success stories of young entrepreneurs, guiding and approaching companies according to their focal interests in Mexican products, linking businessmen to other markets; increasingly creating more business opportunities with importing and entrepreneurial companies that appreciate the quality of Mexican products.

Activities of the Pacific Alliance Promotion Agencies Group

The Pacific Alliance Promotion Agencies Group will continue its activities this year 2024, under Chile’s pro tempore presidency of the bloc.

In November, the XI version of the Pacific Alliance Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forum LAB4+ will be held between November 21 and 23 together with EtM Day, which will seek to enhance the impact of this initiative and make the link with the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem part of the DNA of companies, contributing to generate a cultural change in the countries of the Alliance.

The activity will take place in Santiago de Chile and is expected to bring together more than a hundred companies from the PA, seeking to enhance the impact of this regional bloc through European observers interested in the supply of services and technological innovations of the companies.

• The event -which is organized by ProChile- takes place within the framework of Chile’s pro tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance and is carried out jointly with the PA Promotion Agencies Group, made up of ProChile, ProColombia, the Mexican Ministry of Economy and PROMPERÚ.

July 2, 2024 – Nearly 180 companies will be at the XI Pacific Alliance (PA) Business Macro-Round until July 4, an event that brings together importers and exporters from the member countries of the bloc plus guests from Europe, Asia and North America. Around 600 business meetings are expected between 120 exporters and 58 buyers from the agri-food, clothing, metal-mechanic, manufacturing and chemical sectors.

The event -which is organized by ProChile- takes place within the framework of Chile’s pro tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance and is carried out jointly with the PA Promotion Agencies Group, made up of ProChile, ProColombia, the Mexican Ministry of Economy and PROMPERÚ.

The Pacific Alliance has established itself as a strategic platform to strengthen trade ties between the countries of the region, promoting the diversification of the exportable supply of goods and services.

Chile’s Vice Minister of Trade, Claudia Sanhueza, highlighted that the Pacific Alliance has established itself as one of the main integration schemes in Latin America. However, she added that a major challenge is to increase trade between member countries, especially MSMEs, which underscores the importance of organizing this Business Macro-Round.

“Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises play a crucial role in the ecomomy of the Pacific Alliance. In fact, more than 90% of the companies in the four countries belong to this category. It is imperative to continue working on the development of policies that support them and to establish regulations that facilitate intra-Alliance trade, thus creating opportunities to access new markets,” she said.

Likewise, Chile’s Undersecretary of Agriculture, Ignacia Fernández, said that “agriculture is an important area of trade and business between Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Chile, as pro tempore presidency of the PA, has the challenge of consolidating intraregional trade between our countries. By promoting the agro-export agenda, we are intensifying efforts to diversify markets for the export of our agricultural products, and this Macro-Round seeks to consolidate our ties with these countries and other markets such as Europe and Asia, building a more equitable and sustainable future for everyone”.

PA Promotion Agencies

The general director of ProChile, Ignacio Fernández, commented that intra-regional trade within Latin American countries has the opportunity to continue to grow with events such as this. “Precisely, the Pacific Alliance seeks to continue promoting and projecting a regional integration that promotes greater growth and welfare of our countries through intra-regional trade. Chile recognizes the Pacific Alliance as a partner of great relevance. Not only do we share cultural and historical ties that facilitate commercial exchange, but it also shows an economic dynamism that opens many opportunities for our exportable supply, especially for light manufacturing, industrial supply, services and, for our SMEs, a priority segment”, said Fernández.

In turn, the president of ProColombia, Carmen Caballero Villa, added that “we celebrate this Pacific Alliance Macro-Round, which is nothing more than a manifestation of the determination of the country’s entrepreneurs to strengthen their presence in the international market and promote inclusive and sustainable development. This also symbolizes the constant evolution of our regions, of our entrepreneurship and of Colombia, the Country of Beauty”.

From Mexico, the Ambassador of Mexico in Chile, Dr. Laura Moreno Rodríguez, celebrated that “the XI Pacific Alliance Business Macro-Round has been organized taking into account the experience of the Alliance in 13 years, moving towards a fairer, more inclusive and sustainable trade, where MSMEs and women-led businesses should be at the center of the promotion of trade in the bloc, which is in line with Mexico’s policy of democratizing foreign trade”, and stressed ‘the importance of continuing to work on the potential for diversification and growth of exports from the four countries of the Alliance, through joint efforts and collaboration’.

For the executive president of PROMPERÚ, Claricia Tirado, “the XI Pacific Alliance Business Macro-Round is a valuable opportunity for our country to strengthen trade relations between its members and, at the same time, to make markets in Europe, Asia and North America aware of the quality of our exportable supply, as well as the commitment of our producers to sustainability. PROMPERÚ is very proud to have secured the participation of 15 companies from the agri-food sector, most of them small and medium-sized. We are convinced that the high quality of their products will open the doors to new international markets after this event”.

COMMUNICATIONS PPT CHILE 2024 PACIFIC ALLIANCE

• A space to learn about the best of the sustainable tourism offerings of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, identify synergies and establish strategic alliances.

August 4, 2023 – Within the framework of the Pacific Alliance Tourism Cooperation Agreement, the entities responsible for international tourism promotion in the four countries – Chile’s National Tourism Service (SERNATUR), ProColombia, Mexico’s Secretariat of Tourism (SECTUR), and PROMPERÚ – receive each year the mandate to manage strategic alliances, and develop joint promotional tools and actions aimed at both the business sector and the end public in order to boost the marketing of Pacific Alliance tourist destinations and contribute to increasing the flow of tourists within the region and from third markets to the countries of the bloc.

It should be noted that one of the pillars of the Pacific Alliance is sustainability, thus contributing to one of the priorities of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the countries of the bloc. Taking into account the situation generated by the pandemic, international tourists are demanding a new way of doing tourism, with sustainability being a requirement in all sectors of economic activity. Studies such as the recent analysis of Expedia Group, endorse the importance of sustainability in destinations, since 90% of travelers are looking for more sustainable travel options and 7 out of 10 of them have discarded a destination for fear that their sustainable practices are not real.

Given the above, is that within the activities contemplated in the Work Plan 2023 of the Pacific Alliance, is the 1st Sustainable Tourism Business Meeting, which is carried out as an innovative edition of the past Pacific Alliance Tourism Macro-Rounds that were developed from 2014 to 2021.

The development of this meeting organized by the PA will bring together entrepreneurs and academics from the tourism sector of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, so they can share experiences and best practices on management, projects or tourism products based on the sustainability component in order to generate new business opportunities and strengthen existing ones.

This meeting will be held on August 9, 16 and 17, virtually, through various spaces to strengthen the sustainable tourism offer of the Pacific Alliance through the exchange of best practices and experiences, training, identification of synergies and strategic alliances in order to generate new business opportunities between inbound and outbound companies of the countries that make up the bloc.

Details of the meeting can be found at the following link: https://www.encuentroturismosostenibleap.com/.

Schedule of activities:

• Inauguration | 09.08.23 | 09:00 – 9:30 COL time | 30 min.

Opening ceremony preceded by Claricia Tirado, Director of Tourism of PROMPERÚ as coordinator of the Technical Group of Promotion Agencies of the PA (Tourism).

• Academic Agenda | 09.08.23 | 09:30 – 10:35 COL time. | 45 min.

Keynote speech entitled “Sustainable and Regenerative Tourism, an opportunity for regional development” given by Vicente Ferreyra Acosta, Vice President of Sustainable Tourism of the Sustainable Social Tourism Summit.

• Commercial Pitch Preparation | 9.08.23 | 14:00 – 15:30 COL time. | 90 min.

Interactive workshop given by Fernando Mandri Bellot, president of the Sustainable Social Tourism Summit, to the participating inbound companies for the construction and improvement of their value proposition and the sales pitch of their products with high impact on sustainability.

• Pitch Sessions | 16.08.23 | 09:00 – 11:20 COL time. | 120 min.

Presentation of commercial pitches by incoming agents from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru to a panel of experts and outbound agents from the four countries of the bloc. As a result of this space, the outbound agents will have the opportunity to request meetings with the companies whose products were of greatest interest, leading to more effective business meetings.

• Business Networking | 17.08.23 | 09:00 – 16:00 COL time.

Development of 1-on-1 appointments between outbound and inbound participants.

It is expected that the event will have the participation of forty sustainable tourism companies from the four countries, twenty outbound and twenty inbound, which will have the opportunity to participate in pitch sessions and business networking, on August 16 and 17, in order to generate new business opportunities to contribute to the increase of intra-Alliance tourists.

Details of the Academic Agenda

Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru invite you to be part of the Academic Agenda of the First Business Meeting on Sustainable Tourism of the Pacific Alliance, with the keynote lecture: “Sustainable and regenerative tourism as an opportunity for regional development”, a space where you will learn about the trends and market evolution in terms of sustainability.

Speaker: Vicente Ferreyra Acosta, Vice President of Sustainable Tourism of the Sustainable & Social Tourism Summit.

Virtual Connection: August 9, 2023

10:00 Chilean time

09:00 Colombia/Peru time

08:00 Mexico time

Academic Agenda registration link:

https://encuentroturismosostenibleap.koyag.com/signinups/inscripciones-agenda-academica/register

• Within the framework of the pro tempore presidency of Mexico under the leadership of the Ministry of Economy of Mexico and in conjunction with ProChile, ProColombia and PromPerú; the Promotion Agencies Technical Group developed commercial and investment activities that impacted more than 300 exporting companies.

January 4, 2023.-  The 2022 joint work plan positively impacted trade relations between the countries that make up the Pacific Alliance and the bloc’s exporters with purchasing companies from prioritized third-party markets. The coordination of the Promotion Agencies Technical Group (GTAP) was characterized by continuing to include new strategic markets, promoting the participation of more Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and mainstreaming the gender approach in the various promotional joint activities. This through the incorporation of more women entrepreneurs in trade and investment promotion activities.

The joint promotion plan began in January with the “First Networking of Public Procurement Suppliers”. The objective of the activity was to strengthen the Alliance’s state contracting system and consolidate commercial relations between the companies of the bloc through an academic session and business meetings. Due to the forementioned, more than 70 companies of the Pacific Alliance were impacted.

At the end of March, the second activity of the year called “Program of Income Potentiality to China Marketplaces” was carried out, which had the purpose of providing 21 selected companies from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru with a diagnosis for their incursion into the channel of e-commerce in China.

In April, within the framework of the celebration of the eleventh anniversary of the Alliance, the first “Craft Fair of the Pacific Alliance” took place, which purpose was the promotion of the creative economy of the four countries. It consisted of a physical exhibition with handmade products from 21 Alliance companies and a virtual showroom. For the latter, 150 craft products from 54 companies in the block were promoted, reaching 19,000 visits and 118,000 impressions.

At the end of July and beginning of August, the ” X Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forum of the Pacific Alliance LAB4+” was held. The purpose of this activity was to join efforts to promote and strengthen entrepreneurship, innovation and trade in services in the countries of the bloc. The Forum represented a meeting point for 104 entrepreneurs and exporters from the Pacific Alliance countries who had the opportunity to present, through 200 business meetings, projects or exportable offers to more than 37 investors and buyers from eight markets ( Canada, Chile, Colombia, South Korea, the United States, Mexico, Peru and Singapore), which generated business expectations for 2 million 710 thousand 734 US dollars and an estimated investment ticket of 7 million 400 thousand 598 US dollars (USD).

Between August and October, the ” X Business Macro-Round of the Pacific Alliance ” was held. An iconic event focused on promoting exports of goods from the four countries of the bloc to potential buyers from more than 27 markets. This important promotional activity consisted of three virtual business roundtables focused on the American, European and Asian markets. During the three rounds, more than 150 exporting companies from the Pacific Alliance participated, having the opportunity to make business appointments with 62 international buyers. The foregoing left business expectations to the business fabric of the block for more than 5 million 790 thousand US dollars. In this edition, the participation of MSMEs was promoted, establishing a 60% quota in the three business roundtables. A 30% quota for companies led by women was also contemplated, specifically for commercial activity in Europe.

Finally, the Promotion Agencies Technical Group developed the second edition of the “Pacific Alliance Infrastructure Investment Opportunities Portfolio “, which consisted of 15 projects in roads, water and sanitation subsectors; railways, fluvial and ports. The dissemination of the Portfolio was carried out through two actions:

First. Investment opportunity seminars were held in Japan and Canada (the one in Canada is scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2023). The seminar in Japan was held in November 2022 and more than 170 investment funds participated, as well as diplomatic personnel from the member countries of the Pacific Alliance and the Japanese business community. In that seminar they had the opportunity to hear first-hand the 15 infrastructure projects of the Alliance countries.

Second. In the first week of December, the “Virtual Investment Roundtable” was held for the first time, a commercial activity aimed at disseminating the Portfolio. In this space, the representatives of the infrastructure investment projects of the Alliance countries had the opportunity to meet with Chinese investors through one-on-one appointments with the intention of investing 7.84 billion US dollars.

The Promotion Agencies Technical Group reiterates its commitment to continue working together with the mission of promoting foreign trade and foreign investment in the region, as well as creating and developing strategies so that more Alliance companies obtain benefits and internationalize.

January 4, 2023.- As every year, the Promotion Agencies Technical Group of the Pacific Alliance, through its promotion agencies ProChile, ProColombia, the Ministry of Economy of Mexico and PromPerú, held the X Business Macro-Round of the Pacific Alliance, an iconic event of the mechanism of integration that aims to promote the best of the exportable supply of the bloc, thus promoting the commercial relationship between the four member countries and with prioritized third markets.

The X Macro-Round was made up of three virtual business roundtables, focused on markets in America (September 26 to 30), Europe (October 17 to 21), and Asia (October 24 to 28). The prioritized sectors were: agro-food and beverages, consumer goods such as textiles and footwear, wooden articles and fine pearls, cosmetic and hygiene products, medical instruments and general manufacturing such as mechanical, electrical and plastic devices.

It should be noted that, in this edition, the participation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) was promoted, as well as companies led by women, establishing a 60% quota for exporting MSMEs or those ready to export from the Pacific Alliance in the 3 business conference, and 30% of places for companies led by women specifically for commercial activity in Europe.

In these three business roundtables, 327 exporting companies from the Pacific Alliance had an opportunity to make business appointments with 128 international buyers from 27 countries. These commercial meetings left business expectations for the business fabric of the block for USD 5,790,091.00, which translates into more business opportunities aiming to have an increasingly integrated and global Pacific Alliance.

Finally, within the framework of this important joint promotion activity, two academic agendas were carried out. The first, on September 20 in the framework of the business conference with American countries and the second held on October 11 and 12 focused on the European and Asian markets. Both presented important points to consider when entering the three markets, such as: entry restrictions, certifications and good practices. In total, 178 people benefited from the information shared.

The Academic Agenda is available on the page of the Promotion Agencies Technical Group:

https://alianzapacifico.net/grupotecnico-agencias-de-promocion/

September 19, 2022.- The sectors for the Business Matchmaking Forum in Europe are agrifood and beverages, consumer goods such as textiles and footwear, wooden articles and fine pearls. In addition, in this round, priority will be given to exporting companies owned or led by a woman.

As for the Business Matchmaking Forum in Asia, it will focus on the agrifood and beverage sectors and manufacturing in general, such as mechanical and electrical devices and plastics.

In the Pacific Alliance we have the mission of promoting the inclusion of micro, small and medium-sized companies to export processes in international commercial activities. For this reason, in each of the business roundtables, of the total places, 60% are reserved for SMEs.

TIMELINE

X BUSINESS MATCHMAKING FORUM IN EUROPE AND ASIA

Registrations September 19 to October 14

Validation and confirmation of companies October 3 to 14

Business Appointment Scheduling – Europe October 3 to 14

Business Appointment Scheduling – Asia October 3 to 19

Academic Agenda October 11 and 12

Europe Business Matchmaking Forum October 17 to 21

Asian Business Matchmaking Forum October 24 to 28

Check the bases and register for free at https://www.xmcralianzadelpacifico.com/

Year after year, the member countries of the Pacific Alliance, through their promotion agencies ProChile, ProColombia, the Ministry of Economy of Mexico and PromPerú, seek to promote and endorse trade relations with each other and with third markets.

As part of the iconic initiatives to promote exports in the region, the X Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forum of the Pacific Alliance LAB4+, which, in its 9 previous editions, has generated export opportunities for more than USD $70 million and investments for more than $100 million.

The main objective of the Forum is to promote service companies in the region by offering a virtual space in which business opportunities are generated, through one-on-one business meetings, between exporters and buyers of Technological Services, as well as between startups and investors. This year it is expected to have commercial meetings that benefit more than 150 companies from the prioritized sectors.

Likewise, the Forum seeks to position the Pacific Alliance as a regional integration mechanism that promotes entrepreneurship, innovation and trade in services, among its members, and with third countries. According to Endeavor Review, the block has currently received a significant amount of investment from Venture Capital. In 2021 alone, the Pacific Alliance was the destination of 6,158 million dollars from Venture Capital.

Regarding the raising of capital during 2021, in Chile FinTech had a representative increase of 30%; in Mexico FinTech represented 53%. In the case of Colombia, electronic commerce obtained 60%, while Peru was in EdTech with 58%.

This year, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forum of the Pacific Alliance LAB4+ will focus on the promotion of technological services companies and startups from the bloc in the markets of the United States, Canada and the Pacific Alliance countries themselves. In addition, promoting the projection to the world with special emphasis on Asia, for the first time, the markets of Singapore and Korea were invited. These markets are among the top 15 service importers in the world and among the top 5 on the Asian continent.

Also new in this edition of the Lab4+ Forum is the promotion of the participation of women. According to a study on the Venture Capital Ecosystem in Latin America, “women are still underrepresented in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and are the ones who face the most barriers in terms of access to capital.”

For this reason, of the total number of places available for this X edition, 30% are reserved for companies and startups led by women.

The commercial component of the X Lab4+ Forum will be held from August 8 to 12. The prioritized sectors for the X edition are FinTech, HealthTech, AgriTech, EdTech and IT Services (Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, creative and cultural industries software).

Exporters from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru will meet with more than 180 buyers in search of suppliers and quality products, a hallmark of the bloc’s members.

The annual flagship activity of the Pacific Alliance trade in goods, the Business Macro-Round, which will be held virtually from August 12, was segmented this year into three phases, according to the demand for products sought by the member countries of the bloc and third markets.

First, there will be a business round table aimed at Asia and Oceania, which will prioritize the supply of agri-foods, since the Asian continent is fundamental for the global trade of these products, as stipulated in the “Agri-Outlook” report of the FAO and the OECD. It is also the world’s fastest recovering region after the recession caused by the global health situation.

In this initial meeting, commercial ties will be strengthened with Singapore, a country with which negotiations were recently concluded to become an Associate State of the Pacific Alliance.

The second phase will focus on Europe, where agri-foods and natural ingredients will prevail. It should be noted that this region is increasingly demanding natural products and foods produced under the parameters of trends accentuated by the pandemic and favorable to the exportable supply of the Pacific Alliance, as also indicated in the aforementioned FAO and OECD report.

The third stage will be aimed at the markets of the Pacific Alliance and Canada, a candidate country to become an Associated State of the bloc. This last part of the Macro-Round will have a multi-sectoral orientation that will help boost intra-regional trade and the diversification of Pacific Alliance exports.

The segmentation of the Business Macro-Round will allow its companies to know what products are in demand by the main allies of the bloc, and to take advantage of the benefits provided through lower tariffs, improved delivery times and trade facilitation.

“In its eight previous versions, the PA Macro-Round has generated export opportunities for more than US$914 million to entrepreneurs from the four member countries, expanding their business at regional level and towards international markets. This edition contributes to economic reactivation and job creation in the countries that make up the bloc. It is also an ideal opportunity to strengthen the export offer of companies from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru and, at the same time, strengthens trade links with allied countries of the mechanism,” said Flavia Santoro, president of ProColombia and current president pro tempore of the Technical Group of Promotion Agencies.

• The event will seek to promote trade in services between groups of exporters, buyers, startups and investors.

• In its eight editions, this meeting has generated export opportunities for more than US$ 65 million and investment opportunities for more than US$ 22 million.

As part of the iconic initiatives of the Pacific Alliance’s promotion entities, the IX Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forum LAB4 + will be held between July 14 and 26, focusing on the promotion of trade in services and with the participation of entrepreneurs in FinTech, HealthTech, AgriTech, EdTech, internet of things, artificial intelligence, blockchain, virtual and augmented reality and cybersecurity.

The purpose of LAB4+ is to promote the safe reactivation of the region’s economy through the generation of business opportunities for exporters and entrepreneurs in the bloc’s service sector.

The event also seeks to position the countries of the Pacific Alliance as hemispheric leaders in the promotion of entrepreneurship, innovation and the use of technologies of the fourth industrial revolution.

“Innovation has become a transversal axis for ProChile. In this sense, LAB4+ allows an additional possibility for startups and scaleups in our country to connect with the most important innovation ecosystems in Latin America, in search of alliances, business and new investments. LAB4+ takes place in a period of unprecedented digital acceleration, which has allowed many of them to scale globally,” said ProChile’s General Director, Jorge O’Ryan.

“This multilateral meeting promotes the participation of companies and investors from countries on four continents, which demonstrates the potential of the Pacific Alliance in terms of business. During the pro tempore presidency of Colombia, we have proposed to jointly promote our offer of services and the attraction of foreign investment,” said Flavia Santoro, president of ProColombia.

In this regard, Monica Duhem Delgado, Head of the Global Economic Intelligence Unit of the Mexican Ministry of Economy highlighted that “the COVID19 pandemic has urged companies worldwide to rethink their business strategies and innovate, and LAB4+ has become the ideal space where the Pacific Alliance service companies demonstrate this potential. Mexico celebrates the opportunity that the companies of the bloc have in this edition to expand their opportunities beyond the North American region and to include other markets in Europe, Asia and Latin America. In the case of Mexico, the participation of MSMEs exporting services and startups was very high. We wish the greatest success and the closing of new business to all participating companies.”

“With the LAB4+ Forum we promote the development of an ecosystem within the group and the internationalization of a high value-added offer is enhanced. We hope that the 30 Peruvian SMEs of services with technological products that will participate, and all the attendees of the bloc, can access important opportunities for their business development and economic growth,” said the executive president of PromPerú, Amora Carbajal.

Agenda and participants

Participants in this version of LAB4+ come from priority markets such as Canada, the United States and Costa Rica, as well as Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, countries that make up the Pacific Alliance. For the first time in the history of this forum, investors from Europe and the United Arab Emirates will be invited to take advantage of their interest in the bloc’s markets.

The sessions, which will be held virtually, will be as follows:

• Inauguration and academic agenda, from July 14-15.
• Business roundtable, from July 21 to 23.
• Pitch sessions, from July 21 to 26.

LAB4 + is the pioneer event in joint promotion activities in Latin America, including export and investment components focused solely on trade in services.

This is the third time that Colombia organizes the event, first held in 2013, and which is held annually, developed by the bloc’s promotion authorities: ProChile, ProColombia, the Mexican Ministry of Economy and PromPerú.