CAF and REDIT to Drive Business Innovation Through Knowledge

CAF—development bank of Latin America—and the Network of Technological Institutes of the Valencian Community (REDIT) have signed a collaboration agreement that aims to promote business innovation and technological development in Latin American countries.

The agreement should also promote the exchange and dissemination of information and methodologies, as well as generate knowledge through research, share experiences between the various technology centers in CAF’s shareholder countries, and carry out training and dissemination activities to support SMEs in their internationalization projects and provide them with access to cooperation funds.

CAF representative in Europe José Antonio García Belaunde stressed during the signing of the agreement that the memorandum “contributes to further building bridges between Spain and Latin America in terms of cooperation.” He added that the aim is to “generate practical knowledge that helps to improve the productivity of Latin American SMEs, while also contributing to overcome the crisis generated by COVID-19.”

REDIT president Fernando Saludes said that the Network of Technological Institutes of the Valencian Community has decades of experience supporting SMEs and, thanks to this new way of collaboration, this accumulated knowledge will “serve to strengthen the business fabric and quality of life of citizens from other parts of the world, through the consolidation of productive models based on knowledge, innovation and technology.”

The memorandum signed by CAF and REDIT is in the interest of both institutions to join forces to promote cooperation between the technological centers of Latin America and generate knowledge by conducting studies on industry and innovation.

REDIT is a private non-profit association composed of the eleven Technological Institutes of the Valencian Community, which founded with the purpose of articulating and developing synergies in R&D between them. Its goal is to promote research, progress and technological improvement to contribute to the development and strengthening of business competitiveness. The Network has 1,750 workers from the scientific technological field who carried out 880 R&D projects for more than 12,000 client companies last year.