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UTSA Hosts Delegations for Brazil’s Micro and Small Business Support Service

UTSA Hosts Delegations for Brazil’s Micro and Small Business Support Service

(October 30, 2013) The UTSA Institute for Economic Development hosted a delegation from the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (SEBRAE) in an effort to exchange knowledge and information as well as learn more about how U.S. Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) work.

SEBRAE is a Brazilian small business development institution, created in 1972. The institution counts on a network of 27 regional offices in all Brazilian states along with nearly 800 service units. In September of 2012, UTSA signed a memorandum of understanding with SEBRAE, which set the tone for the onsite visit in 2013.

In addition to the MOU, the Institute for Economic Development also executed an agreement with Brazil’s Small Business Agency and SEBRAE, which will launch in November of 2013,
and will formally link 1.1 million Brazilian clients to the U.S. Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network and LAC markets through the SBDCGlobal.com website. SBDCGlobal.com is an international trade platform developed by the UTSA institute for Economic Development International Trade Center that aims at improving MSME competitiveness, opening new international markets and increasing trade among the small businesses of the Americas.

UTSA was one of the four locations selected by SEBRAE for onsite visits in the United States. The delegation had the chance to meet with Robert McKinley, Associate Vice President for Economic Development, Deborah Schueneman, SBDC National Clearing House (SBDC NET) Director, Cliff Parades, International Trade Center Director, and Carla Gonzalez, Site Specialist SBDCGlobal.com.

“We are building a great alliance of UTSA with one of the largest small business support networks in the world, the SEBRAE organization in Brazil which exceeds our own U.S. Small Business Administration in size. This week our Institute hosted their delegation to share best practices for entrepreneurial development, and this partnership will connect a million clients of the U.S. Small Business Development Center network with a million clients of the SEBRAE network,” said McKinley.

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