The Salvadoran Ministry of Economy, led by María Luisa Hayem, has embarked on a mission to bolster the entrepreneurial and innovative landscape of El Salvador abroad. On April 26th, Minister Hayem visited France with the aim of showcasing the country’s projects related to entrepreneurship, highlighting the investment-friendly environment for technology, exchanging best practices, and seeking agreements beneficial to local startups.
During her visit, Minister Hayem toured facilities and engaged in discussions with founders of business incubators and technology companies with international presence. Accompanying her were representatives from the Salvadoran Embassy in France, as well as José Giammattei, founder of the Salvadoran company Applaudo, and Roland Despinoy, president of the Salvadoran Chamber of Information and Communication Technologies (Casatic).
Among the institutions opening their doors to El Salvador was Station F, an innovation hub fostering the growth of French and international startups, in collaboration with technology and manufacturing companies. Minister Hayem emphasized the exchange of knowledge to «strengthen support for innovative Salvadoran entrepreneurs.»
Simultaneously, the Salvadoran delegation met with representatives of Scibids Technology, one of the startups experiencing robust growth in Europe through AI-based marketing solutions development.
«Through this visit, we showcase the investment opportunities in our country, seeking to strengthen our commercial and investment ties with France,» wrote the Minister of Economy.
On April 27th, Minister Hayem engaged with administrators of the technology training school «42,» who shared their working methodologies with entrepreneurs.
«Learning from best practices such as those of ’42,’ a global reference in programmer training, allows us to adopt innovative learning models as we advance in providing training opportunities for Salvadorans in the digital skills demanded by today’s and future job markets,» emphasized Hayem.
El Salvador consistently fortifies its innovation ecosystem with support from the government, international cooperation, and private initiatives. An example is the Entrepreneurship World Cup held in the country, organized by the Ministry of Economy, providing Salvadorans the opportunity to test their ideas.
With this competition, held four times, over 3,000 local entrepreneurs have benefitted from $560,000 in prizes and training opportunities.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that recently, the United States government, along with two Salvadoran companies, announced the launch of a $3.7 million fund to finance startups in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, further empowering local enterprises.