A. M. 
As part of its sustainability strategy, the financial institution, together with CAMARASAL, launched a complete business training program that will benefit entrepreneurs who sell online through the CUSCATLAN Crece Contigo platform. As an incentive for entrepreneurs to train and have the opportunity to grow their operations in a sustainable manner, CAMARASAL will provide seed capital funds to strengthen their businesses with modern practices, key to promoting their capacity to generate employment at the local level.
Legally registered companies with an annual turnover of between $50,000 and $75,000 in El Salvador and at least one year of continuous operation may participate in the process to benefit from seed capital. They must also subscribe to the CUSCATLAN CRECE CONTIGO Platform.
Companies from all economic sectors of the country are eligible to participate. There will be 3 prizes: a first place of $15,000, a second place of $10,000 and a third place of $5,000 for companies that show a high level of implementation and potential for growth and successful implementation of the lessons learned and innovation capacity in their business models.
With this seed capital, the winning companies must use the funds exclusively for business improvement projects, such as the purchase of equipment or the incorporation of new technologies for their growth.
As part of the follow-up, six months after implementation, they must present evidence of the use of the funds received, otherwise they must return them.
This project seeks to promote the professionalization and digitalization of participating companies through courses on key topics such as e-commerce, finance, marketing and management, which will be taught by experts in each subject.
“At Banco CUSCATLAN we firmly believe in the power of microenterprises in our country to energize our economy and generate jobs. Therefore, we are betting on their professionalization so that they can scale their businesses. With this alliance with CAMARASAL, we are committed to providing support and accompaniment to our entrepreneurs, ensuring that they have the knowledge and resources they need to grow and overcome the challenges of the current context”, said Ximena Robin, Corporate Relations and Sustainability manager of Banco CUSCATLAN.
CAMARASAL reaffirmed its commitment to the sector, underscoring the importance of MSMEs in El Salvador’s economic and social development. “It is vital that we all join efforts to support our micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, giving them not only access to capital, but also to knowledge and skills that will enable them to succeed”, commented Nelson Morales, executive director of CAMARASAL.
Interested MSMEs must register on the CUSCATLAN CRECE CONTIGO platform, as only those that are active on the platform will participate. Subsequently, an evaluation jury, made up of officials from Banco CUSCATLAN and CAMARASAL, will select the companies that move on to the evaluation round for seed capital.
For the final round, the winners will be selected by independent experts, representatives of Banco CUSCATLAN and CAMARASAL. The enterprises will be evaluated for their commercial viability, growth potential and ability to implement the lessons learned in the process. The originality of the business idea and its impact on the community will be taken into account along with the results obtained, which must be documented during the learning stage of the competition.
