The Ibero-American Secretary General, Rebeca Grynspan; Vice President of BusinessEurope and President of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi; and the president of the Council of Ibero-American Entrepreneurs (CEIB) and the Andorran Business Confederation (CEA), Gerard Cadena, yesterday launched a webinar entitled "Public-private partnerships: Government and SMEs building the region in times of crisis." During the virtual seminar, attended by more than 350 people from 15 Ibero-American countries, the current panorama of the Region in the midst of the COVID-19 conjuncture was analyzed by referents from different sectors. In addition, the efforts that are being made in the different scenarios that the Ibero-American context contains are deepened and the importance of alliances between the different sectors to overcome the crisis was stressed.
After the opening, a panel of experts took place, in which the Vice Minister of Economy of Costa Rica, Laura Pacheco; the vice president of the National Association of Entrepreneurs of Colombia (ANDI) and member of the ILO Board of Directors, Alberto Echevarría; the executive director of the National Confederation of Industries of Brazil (CNI), João Emilio P. Gonçalves. After the session, moderated by Estefanía Grajales, executive director of Alianza de Impacto Latino, the day was closed by the hand of the permanent secretary of CEIB, Narciso Casado; the head of SMEs and Entrepreneurship at SEGIB, Esteban Campero; the president of the Spanish Confederation of Associations of Young Entrepreneurs (CEAJE), Fermín Albadalejo; and the president of FIJE, César Durán.
Opening
Prior to the opening, the secretary general of the Iberoamerican Federation of Young Entrepreneurs (FIJE), Antonio Magraner, stressed that this is the first webinar in a series of them, organized by CEIB, SEGIB and FIJE, to address key issues for the next Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, to be held in November 2020 in Andorra under the slogan "Innovation for sustainable development – Objective 2030".
To open the meeting, the president of CEIB and CEA, Gerard Cadena, intervened, who assured that “we are facing a parenthesis, in which production and consumption have stopped and they have put us all in a kind of square brackets " This is not a crisis caused by excessive debt, nor is it a withdrawal of supply and demand, but of both at the same time. For this reason, Cadena called on governments to inject money into the economy and also on employees affected by temporary job suspensions (ERTE), who are seeing reduced incomes. Companies must use their financial capacity, he said, and "we must all make an effort to make this parenthesis incidental and not let the productive fabric die." In addition, he recalled that the fiscal capacity of governments is not unlimited and neither is that of companies, especially SMEs, which must be attended to and supported.
The CEIB president pointed out that, although we are in a parenthesis, this does not mean that everything will remain the same, since after the crisis many things will have changed. "There are those who have described this crisis as the first major service crisis in history", and in the case of Andorra, which depends heavily on tourism, this is true, since it will take a long time to regain normality or build a new one . He also pointed out that this parenthesis is not insubstantial and that, in this new context, we adapt to situations such as teleworking, new technologies and the challenge of the digital revolution. In this sense, he emphasized public-private alliances and partnerships to make these new technological realities possible. Lastly, he highlighted the importance of the next Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, to be held in Andorra in November on innovation and sustainable development, and stressed that both factors are key, not for the 2030 Agenda, but also for the 2020 Agenda.
The Vice President of BusinessEurope and President of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, highlighted the role of young entrepreneurs and assured that they are not the future, but rather the present, and a good example of this is the platform that FIJE has made available to attendees for the webinar celebration. Likewise, in relation to the crisis, Garamendi explained that in Spain citizens have placed themselves at the service of the public, complying with the mandates and recommendations made by the Ministry of Health. Given the current situation, businesses are also managed differently, he explained, and it is essential to prepare companies, since they are the key to employment in the country. For this reason, he referred to the four objectives mentioned in the current ILO roadmap and which are to work for the economy and employment, favor the maintenance of companies, protect the worker at work and be "always and within of social dialogue ”.
Garamendi emphasized the relevance of public-private partnerships, and for this reason he maintains permanent contact with the Government and a series of measures have been adopted to face the crisis. In this sense, he mentioned the new conditions of the ERTEs; the postponement of taxes and Social Security contributions for SMEs and the self-employed; and the joint work with the European Central Bank and the Bank of Spain so that Europe supports its economies. The President of CEOE also highlighted collaboration projects with social causes and, in the case of Spain, he gave as an example the project "Companies that Help", which aims to coordinate, through the CEOE Foundation, the solidarity initiatives that start of companies, to help cope with the COVID-19 crisis. Different Spanish companies, he reported, wanted to get involved from the first day in the management of this crisis, with different initiatives and solidarity contributions (EPIs, logistics, etc.), so the CEOE Foundation wanted to make its resources available to this collaborative will , so that it multiplies its efficiency, articulating offers and attending to the greatest possible number of needs.
Ibero-American Secretary General Rebeca Grynspan praised CEOE President Antonio Garamendi as a business leader in this crisis and stressed that the relationship with the business fabric is essential for the Ibero-American region. Grynspan reported that yesterday in the Spring Meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund this crisis is already described as "the great isolation". He pointed out that we are facing a totally unusual situation, since it is a crisis without culprits and the policy instruments that we have to use to get out of this situation are not the common ones. He also mentioned that we are facing the largest drop in GDP in the Region, around 5%, and unemployment rates ranging between 15% and 20% in many countries.
Grynspan announced that there could be a very fast recovery depending on what we do now. “It is about saving lives, the economy, employment, companies and taking care of the workers. It will depend on all these factors, that we have to face a temporary and non-structural crisis, ”he said. Along these lines, he also mentioned SMEs, since they are the key to recovery and represent 70% of employment in Latin America. Therefore, he stressed, it is essential the measures that have been adopted, such as guarantee funds or soft loans, so that companies do not lack liquidity and there is no solvency problem. The Ibero-American Secretary General considered it essential to ask how it helps to prevent the business fabric from becoming indebted and if the packages of measures that have been taken are sufficient, since in developed countries these packages represent 20% of GDP, while in the developing countries represent 4%. For this reason, he called on the International Monetary Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank to help the most vulnerable countries, since "for this global crisis, a global response is required."
Expert Panel
The Vice Minister of Economy of Costa Rica, Laura Pacheco, focused on the economic measures that have been adopted for the sustainability of the company, such as the moratorium on the payment of taxes to give flexibility and liquidity to companies; the temporary suspension of employment contracts and trying not to fire, although in some cases it has been inevitable; For workers affected by unemployment or lower wages, a state bond has been created to finance their needs; or grace periods in credit payments, among many others. Regarding public-private partnerships, Pacheco assured that these will be very necessary in the context of the crisis as a reactivation factor, and they occur in cases such as research institutes, which collaborate with the private sector to liberate and make access to health technology more flexible.
The vice president of the National Association of Entrepreneurs of Colombia (ANDI) and member of the ILO Board of Directors, Alberto Echevarría, mentioned the important role of business organizations in this crisis, and assured that now they must collaborate together. "It is not enough just to operate, but they must offer their support, and a clear example is the participation of various Latin American organizations in initiatives that have been carried out in the Region." Likewise, he assured that it is necessary to think of ways to articulate support work in national and regional frameworks.
The executive director of the National Confederation of Industries of Brazil (CNI), João Emilio P. Gonçalves, for his part, spoke of the reorganization of global value chains and how the Brazilian industry is preparing. The impact in the country is very difficult to measure, since there is no knowledge of how long the current situation will last; However, he pointed out, CNI has been very active in proposing measures to the government, such as a tax moratorium or aid to have liquidity. Gonçalves insisted that Brazil needs a strong and technological productive fabric and considered of great relevance that “for global value chains to become regional, they must be accompanied by regional public policies, since companies alone will not be able to do so, they need incentives. ”
Closure
In the closing session, the permanent secretary of CEIB, Narciso Casado, emphasized the importance of communication, a factor he called "a natural antidote to the current great isolation of human beings." In this sense, he underlined that, from CEIB, an information flow has been generated through bulletins, in collaboration with the ILO and FIJE, with information on the measures being taken in the Region. He also highlighted the need to generate resources and help from companies and business organizations, to make way for a change in their productivity. This pandemic, he explained, has also accelerated exponentially and in record time the digital transformation of companies and workers, "joining us in a permanent master's degree in training, perhaps the largest in history, and where we are all called to reorient ourselves towards technology." All this will result, according to Casado, in greater productivity, better quality of life and in favor of the environment. Finally, he bet on acquiring the commitment, among all, to make more Region and promote more Ibero-America than ever. "All together we must continue creating a more prosperous, cohesive, innovative and sustainable Ibero-American space," he concluded.
The head of SMEs and Entrepreneurship at SEGIB, Esteban Campero, highlighted the profile of those attending the seminar, such as entrepreneurs or government officials from Latin America. He also highlighted the close collaboration and joint activity of SEGIB, CEIB and FIJE in the Region and the effort they make to help companies in the Ibero-American space.
The president of CEAJE, Fermín Albadalejo, stressed the importance of going out all together and united in the fight against the virus and, for this, it is essential that governments help and accompany companies and the self-employed. In addition, he mentioned a positive aspect in the current context, which is that "the talent of young entrepreneurs comes to light in this type of situation."
Finally, the president of FIJE, César Durán, emphasized that "behind governments and companies are people, who are the ones who will have to think about how to get out of this whole situation, joining both from the private sector and academic or social. It is everyone's task ”, he assured.
For more information:
- To access the recording of the webinar click here.
