Accessibility

Open Call for SME-s: Strengthening Cybersecurity Skills

LAC4 in cooperation with the Delegations of European Union to Guatemala and Costa Rica and EUreCA call for Central American small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in a training to strengthen cybersecurity skills, taking place from 19th to 21st March 2025 in Antigua, Guatemala. The deadline to apply is 10th February 2025.

Recent years have seen exponential growth in cyberattacks in Central America, affecting people, governments and businesses alike. While governments and large companies have better tools and resources to address these challenges, small and medium-sized enterprises may lack these. To bridge these gaps and promote good cybersecurity practices in support to local SME ecosystem, three enterprises from Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador each are welcomed to in-person cybersecurity and networking training.

For the EU Ambassador to El Salvador and to SICA, H.E. François Roudié, “Cybersecurity is a fundamental pillar for the economic and social development of SMEs in Central America. In an increasingly digitalised world, protecting the data and systems of these companies is essential to ensure their competitiveness and growth. The European Union, through the LAC4 initiative and its Global Gateway strategy, is committed to supporting Central American SMEs in this area, providing the necessary tools and knowledge to face cyber challenges. Through this competition, we seek to recognise and strengthen the cybersecurity initiatives of SMEs, thus contributing to a more secure and prosperous digital environment for the economy and people across the region”.

According to Merili Soosalu, LAC4’s regional programme leader for Latin America, “LAC4 is driven by a mission to build bridges between the EU and LAC region that bring together knowledge, expertise and experience in cybersecurity from different sectors. We at LAC4 are very excited to take a step further after a series of successful trainings and workshops in the region, each of them tailored specifically to individual needs of different sectors such as their sector-specific challenges or differences in regulatory and operational environment. We look forward to this novel initiative to facilitate cybersecurity capacity building for the backbone of any economy, the small and medium-sized enterprises to address challenges they are specifically facing. I also hope that leveraging the Estonian-Czech-built MASS tool in preparation for this training helps SMEs to assess their information security management maturity and identify areas for improvements.”

Requirements at a glance

  • Open to SME-s from Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador.
  • Open to SME-s developing products or services with digital components and that are already or looking means to export to the European Union.
  • Open to SME-s with at least of three years sales.
  • Open to SME-s with a team of 5 people or more.
  • Completion of self-assessment of the MASS tool.
  • Motivation letter.
  • SME-s that have received any financial benefit from the EU are not eligible.

Applications will be evaluated based on applicant’s self-analysis of the benefit gained from the training, scalability of applicant’s operation and export and applicant’s commitment to publicise the use of MASS tool.

Selected SME-s will be announced by 18th February. Once selected, organisers will cover the travel to, from and in Guatemala (except for Guatemalan participants), accommodation and meals of up to two employees or professional services provider of selected SME. All other costs related to participation are up to participants. One of the two nominated employees or professional services provider must have technical knowledge of information security and the other must be part of administration or management of the SME.

To express your interest, please apply here: https://www.lac4.eu/event/training-for-strengthening-cybersecurity-skills-for-smes/register/

By submitting application, applicant confirms that they have read and agree to terms of the call presented here: https://www.lac4.eu/event/training-for-strengthening-cybersecurity-skills-for-smes/

 


Keep reading similar articles
Building Training Capacity: LAC4 Concludes a Series of Successful Train-the Trainer Workshops in Guatemala

LAC4 in partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to Guatemala and the Presidential Commission for Open and Electronic Government of Guatemala conducted a series of train-the-trainer workshops in Guatemala, equipping participants with critical skills to further raise awareness of cybersecurity and cyber hygiene.  

LAC4 Organises a Series of Train-the-Trainer Workshops in Guatemala to Raise Awareness on Cyber Hygiene

LAC4 organises train-the-trainer workshops on cyber awareness and cyber hygiene in Guatemala this week for representatives and stakeholders from public sector, civil society, private sector and indigenous communities of Guatemala. Training workshops are taking place on 27th and 28th January in Guatemala City and on 30th and 31st January in Quetzaltenango.

Cybersecurity in Ports: Strengthening Maritime Security in the Andean Region

While seaports are essential in serving as hubs for economic growth and international trade, their physical and digital security is often overlooked. To address challenges in digital security of ports, LAC4 organised a training from 21st to 24rd January 2025 in Guayaquil, Ecuador for national authorities and ports from Ecuador, Peru and Colombia on cybersecurity.

Panel: A Multi-Faceted Approach to Build Cyber Resilience

LAC4 Policy Expert César Moliné Rodríguez participated in a session on building national resilience at the 3rd Annual CIRT-BS Cybersecurity Conference + ITU Regional CyberDrill in Nassau, the Bahamas.

Importance of Cybersecurity Indexes: Improving National Cyber Resilience

The 3rd LAC4 members-only seminar focused on three main and globally recognized cybersecurity assessment framework and their impact to cybersecurity policies around the world. Seminar was attended by more than 170 stakeholders and policymakers from LAC4 members.

Holiday Greetings

The LAC4 team wishes happy holidays’ season and is looking forward to 2025 with excitement!