Jorge Capelán, Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, Janaury 8th 2021
In 2021 Nicaragua led the Central American region in economic growth after three difficult years during which it faced a coup attempt, two devastating hurricanes, the Covid pandemic and permanent attempts by big capital and the US to destroy the country's economy.
What is the secret? It is that the family, popular and social economy in Nicaragua is the largest in Latin America, generating most of the wealth and employment in the country... and is a sector decisively supported by the State.
At the heart of the promotion of Nicaraguan small enterprises is the Ministry of Family, Community, Cooperative and Associative Economy (Mefcca).
Founded in 2012, Mefcca "is the youngest ministry of the Executive Branch of our Government of Comandante Daniel and Compañera Rosario (Murillo) to support peasants, workers, entrepreneurs and the self-employed, all agents that stimulate the social economy and that generate 70% of the GDP ", explains comrade Leonel Rivera, Mefcca's departmental delegate of Managua.
The family, popular and social economy sector is of great economic importance. It employs about 80% of the workforce and produces 80% of the food consumed by the population, controlling almost all urban and inter-urban public transport as well as the vast majority of medium and small sized businesses. It is also strong in the export sector in areas such as meat and milk production, as well as in services and overall trade.
Mefcca supports the popular and social economy through various programmes providing training, technical assistance and even financing enterprises of all kinds. Among the initiatives or "platforms" implemented by this ministry are marketing, design and innovation competitions for all the country's businesses. Sales and trade fairs are also organised at national, departmental and municipal levels, as well as sector specific on-line sales days. Every weekend the media announces hundreds of such activities promoted by Mefcca throughout the country.
Among its most important areas of activity, Leonel Rivera highlights the following as being responsible for the popular economy's dynamism;-
- promoting government policies to support entrepreneurs;
- legal registration and administrative guidance for cooperatives;
- supporting farmers, fishermen, artisans and other small business protagonists in adding value to their products;
- projects in Nicaragua's special zones, the Caribbean Coast and the Upper Wangki Special Zone.
In addition, Mefcca has two decentralised bodies: the Nicaraguan Institute for Cooperative Development (Infocoop), responsible for the promotion, dissemination, training and strengthening of the cooperative sector, and the National Administration of Fairs, a large Fair Park on the outskirts of Managua that serves as a showcase for the country's different productive sectors.
Mefcca works closely with all institutions and social organisations related to production in all areas, from the transfer of agricultural and fishery technologies to tourism, culture and what is now called the "creative economy". This coordination also takes place at departmental, municipal and local levels.
"… we have 20 local departmental offices by means of which last year we served more than 1.5 million people, thus contributing to this country's family economy. AS a result this we managed to end the year with a growth of around 9.9%, the highest in Central American", says Leonel Rivera.
On the outlook for 2022, he says: "This year we will continue to promote government policies, the strategic public policies of our government, through the Ministry of the Family Economy to make greater strides in innovation, agro-industry and enhancing the quality of entrepreneurs, farmers and producers".