Georgetown University McDonough School of Business' Latin American Leadership Program and Georgetown Law School's Center for Advances in the Rule of Law in the Americas, in collaboration with HUGE Business and Investment Council, today held the opening session of a series of programs on Nearshoring and Sustainable Investment in the Americas. This course will explore how new regulatory frameworks and economic policies to benefit and challenge the Latin American region in different sectors while co-designing potential solutions to possible scenarios.

Through its founders, HUGE has invited 43 participants from U.S. and Central American private sector companies and multinational companies with operations in the region, law firms, investors and international organizations to this program from which they will graduate and receive a diploma in five weeks.

The United States, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have a historic opportunity to capitalize on the competitive advantages of nearshoring through coordinated regional activities.  HUGE (Honduras, U.S., Guatemala, El Salvador) Business & Investment Council represents the first joint effort of private sector job creators from the three Central American countries and their U.S. counterparts to drive massive job creation in these countries. HUGE's goal is to contribute to the creation of the American Dream in the Northern Triangle through the generation of sustainable jobs, effectively reducing one of the key causes of irregular immigration to the United States.

"Near-shoring is a smart opportunity to shape Latin America's future; it could add $78 billion annually in additional exports of goods and services in the region in the short to medium term (according to an IDB report). The program brings together private sector leaders in the region who can drive change in this economic climate. As such, a multidisciplinary program has been designed to help them be prepared to be local partners of foreign investors," said Ricardo Ernst, Baratta Chair Professor in Global Business and Supply Chains and the executive director of the Latin American Leadership Program at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, during the program's inauguration ceremony.

Banco Cuscatlán and Grupo Ficohsa, Founders of HUGE, sponsored at least 10 participants each from El Salvador and Honduras respectively, and Banco Industrial mobilized several participants from Guatemala. Federico Nasser, president of Inversiones Cuscatlán commented that "As Founders of HUGE, our mission is to make the Northern Triangle a reference point for investment in Central America. That is why we are preparing entrepreneurs from our countries to take advantage of Nearshoring opportunities and become the business partner that any U.S. entrepreneur would want to have. The program developed by Georgetown University for HUGE that we are launching today is a concrete step in the development of Nearshoring and massive job creation for our countries".

Camilo Atala, Chairman of the Board of Grupo Financiero Ficohsa, said, "We have made this program available to our clients to help them understand the practical implications of nearshoring opportunities and paradigm shifts in supply chains, as well as the technical, commercial, legal and general challenges of doing better business through real-world examples. They will have the opportunity to learn about the different players involved and network with other business leaders from the Northern Triangle and the United States. I am excited about Ficohsa's collaboration with all of you here as we work together to create the "American Dream" at home for all the people of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Creating jobs is a big bet to contribute to the prosperity of the region and that is our main bet".

Dr. Juan Jose Daboub, President of HUGE Business & Investment Council said "The Georgetown program, in collaboration with HUGE, focuses on specific business, legal and public policy issues related to Nearshoring opportunities for the United States, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and will address how investors can integrate a sustainable development perspective as part of their investment strategies to prevent environmental, social and governance risks. We are very pleased to collaborate with Professor Ricardo Ernst and his colleagues at Georgetown University to offer such a program, with the support of Ficohsa and Banco Cuscatlán", he said.

Translated by: A.M