The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) development bank, and the European Union signed a technical assistance deal with El Salvador’s Technological Institute of Chalatenango to boost the region’s business support system, officials announced.
The $28,318 project aims to help ITCHA’s Business Development Center better assist local entrepreneurs and small companies during startup, formalization, and growth phases. The agreement falls under CABEI’s DINAMICA II Initiative, which works to build stronger entrepreneurship and innovation networks across Central America through technical help and financing access for small and medium enterprises. The partnership brings together European development expertise with local knowledge to address specific business challenges in Chalatenango department.
Small businesses in rural Central America often struggle to access the technical support and market connections they need to grow beyond survival mode. Many entrepreneurs have good ideas and strong work ethics but lack business planning skills, market knowledge, or connections to suppliers and buyers. The Chalatenango region, like many parts of El Salvador, has seen limited economic opportunities that drive young people to migrate elsewhere for work. Building a stronger local business environment could help create jobs and keep families together while developing the regional economy.
The project will start by diagnosing the current entrepreneurial landscape to identify business needs, opportunities, and challenges in the area. Officials plan to strengthen supply chains by designing a strategy that connects local suppliers with buyers more effectively. ITCHA’s technical staff and teachers will receive specialized training to better support entrepreneurs at different stages of business development. A pilot program will let them apply new knowledge in real situations with actual businesses seeking help.
The initiative expects to benefit more than 175 small and medium enterprises in Chalatenango department over the coming years. The focus on job creation and local economic development could have ripple effects throughout the region as successful businesses grow and hire more workers. Training local staff means the benefits should continue long after the initial project ends, creating a sustainable support system for future entrepreneurs.
DINAMICA II represents a broader effort by CABEI, working with European partners, to address Central America’s development challenges through targeted business support. The relatively small investment shows how focused technical assistance can potentially generate outsized impacts when properly designed and implemented with local partners who understand regional conditions.
