PANAMA CITY

Case Study
Business opportunities
network in Panama

SDGs addressed

This case study is based on lessons from the joint programme ,

“Entrepreneurial opportunities network for poor
families” Read mor e

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PARTICIPATING UN AGENCIES:
 1.
SUMMARY
levels in the fashion sector. The artisans ’
organizations strengthened and consolidated the
This intervention had the objective of reducing Ministry of Trade and Industry’s accreditation
poverty levels in Panama, especially in rural and process .
indigenous areas, by supporting low-income
populations to start new sustainable This case study presents the lessons learned ,
microenterprises, with an emphasis on the tourism results , and practical examples which aim to
and agriculture sectors. The tourism sector was strengthen knowledge about development
promoted because of its ability to involve other programmes which promote inclusive economic
sectors, such as handicrafts, agriculture, logistics, growth .
retail, entertainment, fishing, and sports, among
others. The programme focused its activities in
communities with few resources located in rural
areas in the provinces of Chiriquí, Coclé, Herrera
and Veraguas.

Support in creating and building the abilities of

organizational and associative structures in rural
communities served to increase the competitive
advantage in the market. Among other activities, it
created Rural Tourism Roads in Coclé (La Pintada y
Penonomé) and Santa Fe de Veraguas. The tourist
route in Coclé is now available through various
national tour operators. A Tourism and Artisanship
Board (Mesa Temática de Turismo y Artesanía) was
also organized. However, training firms in The programcontributedto reduce the povertylevelsthrough
participating communities succeeded in improving developingthe tourismand agriculturalsector
the quality of traditional products, with an increase
in prices and sales at the national and international

2. THE
SITUATION

In recent years, Panama has recorded some of the

highest growth rates in the Latin American region.
The World Economic Forum’s Global
Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 mentions that
Panama showed major improvements, mainly in
infrastructure and technological expertise. However,
there is important work to do in the involvement of

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 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) in
the “innovation stage”.
Furthermore, despite high levels of growth and its
global positioning in terms of competitiveness, Panama
is one of the countries in the region with the highest
inequality in concentration of wealth, the level of
healthcare and education, and, basically, in the abilities
of the different groups in society to improve their living
standards. These inequalities are worse in rural areas in
the country supported by the programme.

The touristinflux allowedto increasethe

commercializationof qualityartesan productsand
agrifood

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 Panama is one of the countries in the region with the highest
inequality in concentration of wealth, the level of healthcare and
education, and, basically, in the abilities of the different groups in
society to improve their living standards
the objectives of the Entrepreneurship Centre of this
institution. The strategy revolved around two axes:

3. STRATEGY • Promoting innovation in the artisanal sector and

providing technical assistance to artisans, focusing
on organizing the business, increasing product
quality, and reducing costs.
The programme’s strategy consisted of reducing • Strengthening the sustainable rural tourism sector
poverty in Panama, especially in rural and indigenous by developing its entrepreneurial capacities and
areas, by supporting low-income populations to start identifying products and rural tourism routes.
new sustainable microenterprises with an emphasis on
the tourism and agricultural sectors. The programme
focused its activities on communities with few
resources and located in rural areas in the Chiriquí,
Coclé, Herrera and Veraguas provinces. The
programme’s activities were aligned with the
entrepreneurship strategy of the Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprise Authority (AMPYME) and with

Promoting innovation in the artisanal sector and providing technical assistance to

artisans

Strengthening the sustainable rural tourism sector

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4. RESULTS AND IMPACT
The programme contributed to reducing poverty levels together.
in the selected provinces through the development of
tourism and agriculture, benefitting a total of 841 men Furthermore, initiatives in Coclé were strengthened by
and women. The economic development driven as a the National Directorate of Artisanship. One example
part of the project revolved around three main factors: is the transformation of the seafood market in Río
innovation, access to a competitive market, and Hato into a centre to sell artisanal products (next to the
promoting associations. All the businesses that were new international airport) and the provision of
permanent sales stalls for associations which are a part
helped in the three sectors improved their profitability,
modified their types of products and their quality, of the Tourism Board.
and introduced new ways of producing and of Together with the Santa Fe Territorial Development
organizing production cycles. Council, the decisions of the mayor and the municipal
council in relation to promoting rural tourism and
The promotion of microenterprises was positive. A organic agriculture were supported, preserving the
total of 734 people, 474 of whom were women, environment and biodiversity typical
received technical assistance in agriculture, of the area.
sustainable tourism and traditional artisanship. The
influx of tourists made it possible to substantially In short, through the programme, the beneficiaries
increase marketing of high quality and innovative learned to better understand market dynamics: how to
touristic, artisanal and agricultural products and deal with them, how to negotiate for better
services, thus positioning communities that produce commercial results, and how to ensure the quality of
the goods in the market. Also, during the intervention, products and services to maintain competitiveness.
two workshops were held on the topics of gender and
access to employment.

The large majority of beneficiaries developed their

businesses in a partnership, formalizing themselves in
agricultural production associations through the rural
development work of the Ministry of Agricultural
Development. In Coclé, a Tourism and Artisanship
Board (Mesa Temática de Turismo y Artesanía) was
established as a meeting place to bring the main
players in local development
Different administrative systems Ensuring that each of the At first, the original
within UN agencies agencies fulfill its obligations programme design did not
facilitate joint and work, but
was a set of individual
activities
Waiting for headquarters to Complex and imprecise Information gaps and long
approve decisions definitions of potential periods of adaptation, caused
beneficiaries and the type of by rotation of personnel
entrepreneurial organization, in
addition to wide territorial
coverage

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 5. CHALLENGES
ough the participation of different United • The coordination and agility in the decision
ons agencies proved to be a very efficient, making process delayed the progress of the
i-dimensional method in terms of getting programme because decisions and consultations
lts, the participating agencies’ different all had to be discussed and approved at the
inistrative systems proved to be headquarters of each participant, with all the
mpatible, which caused communication delays that this process entails.
lems. This brought to light the need to
gn an administrative plan together in order to • Greater precision in interventions and in
ne shared channels and procedures with a identifying the public objective during
w to reducing costs and proceeding in a more programme formulation and planning must be
• The programme is a successful ensured.
pointComplex andthe
key for imprecise definitions
sustainability of There should
of actions.
of reference in terms of the capacity be no obligation, and the process should promote
and impact of the United Nations the leadership capacity of local actors, who drive
system when its agencies work in a the project’s progress.
coordinated and multidimensional • With regard to business development, the provision
manner. Each brings its particular of economic resources must be accompanied by
knowledge and experience. However, strengthened abilities, both of which contribute to
•
for the intervention to be successful, the economic sustainability of businesses and their
it is very important for the roles of success in entering into supply chains.
the different agencies to be clear and
to establish agreements on common • Programmes must be designed taking their
goals, leading to mutual timelines into account, and how long it will take for
understanding on the part of the the transformation process to mature. Otherwise,
agencies and projects will be started whose goals are not
other institutions. sustainable with the planned resources and time
frames.
• It is important to create places for
meeting and dialogue between • Programmes which serve micro and small
different actors to balance producers should promote the creation of
expectations, priorities and needs as a associations, their role in the marketplace, and their
function of the proposed outcomes, scalability in order to be sustainable.
in order to avoid duplication. These • Monitoring and evaluation systems should be
meeting places should involve the established at the programme design stage or in the
beneficiaries and participants
responsible for implementing actions.
This exercise is also positive for the
United Nations agencies, in terms of
perfecting coordination in joint work.
start-up phase, ensuring good follow-up
It is vital to promote the active
mechanisms and making adjustments, if
participation of the beneficiaries in
necessary.
developing strategies, methods and

processes in order to achieve

approval and appropriation of • Knowledge management systems are the key to
projects. This appropriation itself is improving project performance and sharing

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experience. They must be set up at the beginning of
programmes and include activities created within
the consultancies which warrant them.

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7. SUSTAINABILITY AND
POTENTIAL
FOR REPLICATION
The skills building and development models achieved in Coclé and Veraguas.
for new businesses may serve as a point of
reference for other projects being
implemented to promote local development
in Panama, as well as in other
countries.

Development programmes that include skill-

building activities tend to be more sustainable
over time. The participants in the programme
were equipped with technical, managerial and
administrative tools to enable them to
adequately plan their activities and plan for
future contingencies. The promoted activities
received budgetary support from the Micro,
Workshopson gender issuesand access to employment
Small and Medium Business Authority
were developed
(AMPYME) of the Government of Panama,
complemented by significant input from the
United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) through the Rural Development and
Innovation Centres, which will be key for the
artisanal and agricultural production of the
country.
With the objective of guaranteeing the
sustainability of actions, an Enterprise
Support Centre (Centro de Apoyo
Empresarial) for MSMEs was established
with the assistance of the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD). One of the actions suggested to
increase the impact was to establish one-stop
shops for technical and financial assistance at
the local level to give continuity to the
development
Translated by Nathan Weatherdon
© SDG Fund 2017

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