Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation trains 80 SME executives from Castilla-La Mancha in search of export agents
The First Export Programme is a Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation project to provide free training and advice to SMEs in any sector who want to begin exporting.
- So far, approximately 150 business leaders and executives from Castilla-La Mancha have taken part in the programme.
- The initiative forms part of the commitment from GAS NATURAL FENOSA as it helps develop the economy, industry and businesses in Castilla-La Mancha through the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation.
Earlier today, the Director of the Overseas Promotion Institute of Castilla-La Mancha, Fernando Laviña, and the Managing Director of the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation, Martí Solà, officially opened a First Export Programme training day at the Ciudad Real Chamber of Commerce attended by over 80 business leaders and managers of small- and medium-sized enterprises from Castilla-La Mancha.
These training days form part of the agreement signed between the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation and the Overseas Economic Promotion Institute (Spanish acronym: IPEX), under which the two entities commit to provide training and promote those services aimed at helping and offering advice on export activity by small- and medium-sized enterprises in this autonomous region.
The First Export Programme is a project being run by the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation to provide free training and advice to SMEs from throughout Spain wishing to embark on export activity for the first time through a comprehensive, free and ongoing training plan. So far, approximately 150 business leaders and executives from Castilla-La Mancha have taken part in the programme.
Those attending today’s session, entitled “Finding an agent or importer: search, identification and negotiation”, enjoyed two presentations from the Executive Director of the First Export Programme, Emilio Segura, who discussed ways to tackle the search for an appropriate partner within the overall export process and the key issues for doing business in different cultural environments.
Business experts from various sectors also took part in the session. These included the Foreign Trade Manager for Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha at CaixaBank, Antonio Manuel Rodríguez, who analysed the suitable financial instruments for ongoing relations with agents, distributors and importers.
The lead partner from J&A Garrigues, Roldán García, gave some practical advice on legal aspects of international negotiations with trading partners, while the founding partner of Capazita Innovación y Tecnología, Francisco Martínez, spoke about how the Internet can be used to build international networks.
First Export Programme
The First Export Programme run by the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation focuses on lending support to SMEs as they take their first steps towards exporting anywhere in the world through a comprehensive, free and ongoing training plan that includes in-person and online training sessions, as well as personalised advice and mentoring. Participants learn about international marketing, business management and pricing, among other subjects.
The programme launched by the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation in Argentina in 2001 was implemented in Spain two years ago. To take part in the programme, interested companies need to provide a CIF (tax ID number) and sign up for the programme on the website: www.fundacionnaturgy.org.
The Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation, founded in 1992, works to promote information and training and raise social awareness of improvements in energy efficiency and technological innovation in the field of energy while respecting and protecting the environment. It promotes cultural activities through its Gas Museum that are aimed at preserving and publicising the sector's historical and cultural heritage. Its international activities are carried out in Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Morocco, Italy, Moldova and South Africa.
Ciudad Real, 10 February 2016.
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