18 small- and medium-sized enterprises from Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Panama have chosen to participate in a cybersecurity training in March in Guatemala, organised in cooperation between LAC4, the Delegation of European Union to Guatemala and Costa Rica and EUreCA. Participants were carefully chosen from 157 applicants based on their motivation and impact of the training.

“The large amount of application from SMEs across the region clearly highlights the critical importance the critical importance and pressing need of such cybersecurity training that empowers businesses in today’s ever-evolving digital landscape. We at LAC4, together with our partners, we are proud to support their journey in strengthening their own resilience and local SME ecosystem. More than just a training, we’re happy that it is a two-way road and a partnership – SME-s motivation clearly illustrate the unique challenges they face daily, as well as their strong commitment to enhance their cybersecurity posture. They recognize their vulnerabilities and are motivated to bridge these gaps to protect their data and systems better, thus ensuring their competitiveness and growth. We’re truly inspired by their dedication to adopt robust cybersecurity measures and are honoured to support them in this transformative journey”. – Merili Soosalu, LAC Programme Lead.

According to the Ambassador to El Salvador and to SICA, H.E. François Roudié, “the European Union cooperation in Central America celebrates the success of the regional cybersecurity competition, where 18 SMEs have been selected to strengthen their capacities in this crucial area for the development of competitive and secure digital ecosystems. Through the LAC4 programme, implemented by the Estonian Information System Authority, these SMEs from Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador will benefit from training and networking activities in Antigua, which will also contribute to disseminate the MASS cybersecurity self-assessment tool in their respective countries. Cybersecurity is fundamental for the resilience and competitiveness of SMEs in the global market and for citizens. With increasing interconnectedness and entry into force of the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) in Europe, companies must ensure the security of their systems and data to access the European market. The European Union is proud to support this initiative that strengthens the regional business ecosystem and prepares SMEs to compete in the global market, reaffirming our commitment to cybersecurity, cooperation in the digital sector, and the sustainable development of Central America”.

For Ani Rodríguez, representative of the Panamanian SME ProIDEhA, one of the 18 selected companies, “For our company, education and the development of human talent are fundamental. We work for educational transformation in Latin America through neuroeducation and innovative methodologies, impacting school and corporate environments. We are at a strategic moment of expansion, with the goal of consolidating our presence in the European market. Our participation in Global Gateway allowed us to align our vision with international educational trends, highlighting the importance of digitalisation and safety in learning. To strengthen our global projection, it is essential to reinforce our cybersecurity capabilities, ensuring the protection of our user’s information and compliance with international standards”.

Edgar Gaitán, representative of Talent + TEC Management, another of the SMEs chosen for the training: “In our company, we are dedicated to helping other companies with their technology and their people. We are very interested in cybersecurity because we know that our clients’ information is very important and we want to expand our services to clients in Central America and the European Union, where cybersecurity is key. In this sense, the MASS tool has been very useful for us. We believe it can help us improve our security and that of our clients, and we need to learn more about cybersecurity to keep our company and our clients safe, as well as our commitment to share what we learn with other entrepreneurs in Guatemala through workshops, talks and publications”.

Chosen SME-s

1. Avant Garde (Belize)
2. Calimar de Puntarenas (Costa Rica)

3. Cooperativas SanMarqueña (Honduras)

4. EducaT-e S.A.S de C.V (El Salvador)

5. Especias y Hierbas Aromáticas de

   Panamá (Panama)

6. Grupo Fuentes (Honduras)
7. Grupo VAPE (El Salvador)
8. Innovaciones Ambientales (Costa Rica)
9. Intranet Systems (Belize)
10. Planet Positive Tech (Honduras)

11. ProIDEhA® (Panama)

12. Real Inversion Obtenida S.A (Guatemala)
13. SmartBill Technologies (El Salvador)
14. Snap Compliance (Costa Rica)
15. Sytadi (Guatemala)
16. Talent+ TEC Management (Guatemala)

17. TRICORP (Panama)

18. United Networks Solutions Limited (Belize)

The training to strengthen SME cybersecurity skills will take place from 19 to 21 March 2025 in Antigua Guatemala.