Mexico City, May 21, 2013 – The United States and Mexico agreed to create the Mexico-U.S. Entrepreneurship and Innovation Council (MUSEIC). The Council was formalized through the signing of the framework agreement between the U.S. State Department and Mexico’s National Institute of Entrepreneurship.
During President Obama’s visit to Mexico earlier this month, he expressed, along with President Peña Nieto, his commitment to developing an even closer economic and trade relationship between both countries. The Presidents announced the High Level Economic Dialogue, in which officials from both governments will work together to promote competitiveness and connectivity, boost economic growth and innovation, and join forces for global leadership.
On May 8, the preliminary stages to create a binational entrepreneurship and innovation council were developed. This Council will provide a forum to coordinate and collaborate on strategies that trigger the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises.
This Council will integrate a working plan that includes specific programs and activities to incorporate Mexico into the Global Entrepreneurship Program, a U.S. initiative that seeks to catapult entrepreneurs in emerging economies through tools and links to its programs.
MUSEIC was formally launched on May 20th through the signing of the framework agreement by Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Jose Fernandez and the chairman of Mexico’s National Institute of Entrepreneurship, Enrique Jacob Rocha, with Mexico’s Secretary of the Economy Ildefonso Guajardo serving as witness of honor. Representatives from the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs and the National Council for Science and Technology were also present at the signing.
Assistant Secretary of State Jose Fernandez said, “I have been impressed with the commitment of the Mexican government to entrepreneurship both with the words last week by President Peña Nieto and by the formation of the new INADEM led by Enrique Jacob Rocha. We are confident this partnership will create the environment where both our countries will have the opportunity to work together for economic prosperity.”
Enrique Jacob Rocha, chairman of the National Institute of Entrepreneurship stated, “This Council represents the ideal platform to boost our entrepreneurship ecosystem, not only domestically, but around the world, and it will allow us to fulfill one of the goals of this Institute: making our entrepreneurs more competitive alongside one of our key partners.”
U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affires ad interim Laura Dogu said, “Entrepreneurs are the drivers of innovation, of job creation and of sustained economic growth. This is why I am pleased that MUSEIC will strengthen regional competitiveness, which gives us a critical advantage above other regions in a global economy of innovation that is more competitive every day.”
The Mexico-U.S. Entrepreneurship and Innovation Council will focus on:
A regulatory framework that will favor innovative entrepreneurship; Promoting women-led entrepreneurship; Participation and collaboration of the Latin American diaspora; Promotion and integration of infrastructure to support entrepreneurs and micro, small, and medium enterprises; Sharing expertise and best practices on development of regional innovation clusters; Sharing expertise and best practices on supply chains; and Sharing tools and best practices on financing and promotion of innovative, high-impact entrepreneurship.
The Council will be comprised of different participants of the entrepreneur ecosystem from Mexico and the United States, including government officials, academics, private sector representatives, non-government organizations and venture capital funds, among others.