---
title: "Plan Padrinos – International"
summary: "Plan Padrinos – International. Página institucional de Administración de Empresas en la Universidad Externado de Colombia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=18&v=f4dTlk8bI6Q"
description: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=18&v=f4dTlk8bI6Q"
url: "https://www.uexternado.edu.co/administracion-de-empresas/plan-padrinos-international/"
type: "page"
language: "es"
site: "Universidad Externado de Colombia"
section: "Administración de Empresas"
updated: "2017-02-06T13:55:36-05:00"
---

Publicado: 6 de febrero de 2017

# Plan Padrinos – International

### Fast facts:

**Objective:** 

Improve overall competitiveness of emerging market SMEs given their important contribution to the overall economy

**Duration:** 

5 weeks: 4 weeks remotely\* / 1 week field visit

\*: EMI consulting initiatives only require a mínimum of 1 week in Colombia for plan implementation.  The first 4 weeks are flexible in that they can be done remotely or in Colombia.  However, volunteers would be fully responsible for traveling/living expens

### Context:

Plan Padrinos, the consulting initiative with the most history and impact at EMI, seeks to ensure bottom-up economic development by providing a free-of-charge service to small Colombian firms with limited resources.   The approach taken is comprehensive as all business areas and operations are evaluated to obtain a holistic view of the client company’s situation to-date.

As mentioned previously, in Colombia, SMEs compose as much as 96% of existing businesses in Colombia, employ nearly 80% percent of its workforce, yet contribute a mear 40% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. This initiative, the first version of which was created in 1998, has now impacted well over 2000 different SMEs in Colombia so far.

### The program:

Plan Padrinos measures client SMEs across 12 business areas:

*   Innovation
*   Marketing and Sales
*   Strategy
*   Operations
*   Finances
*   Environmental Impact
*   Internationalization
*   Human Resources
*   Legal Framework
*   Family Business (protocols)
*   Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs)
*   Logistics Management

Upon identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the client company, consultants choose one specific area (and up to 3 supplementary areas) to address and improve.  Formulating proposals prior to arrival to Colombia is crucial to be able to take full advantage of the limited time consultants will have in-country to work with management to put the company on track to full implementation.

Working hand-in-hand with management, consultants will determine, with practicality, timeframes, resources needed, and delegation of responsibility for implementation to corresponding personnel and departments.