CAF offers two virtual courses to strengthen digitalization for SMEs and young Latin Americans

Both courses consist of nine modules that are taught in Spanish over ninety-one days. The best 500 participants in each of the courses will receive an official certificate from CAF and the Polytechnic University of Valencia. The certificate will be issued electronically.

The first of these is called “Digital Transformation for Young People: Digital skills to improve your employability”. It offers knowledge about digital tools to young people who want to join the labor market, with the aim of improving their profile and employability. 

This course guides them through an exploration and understanding of the tools required by companies in their digital transformation processes, guiding them on how to apply them to different areas and departments from an employee’s point of view. This is because CAF considers it extremely important that young people understand all the opportunities new technologies provide in the workplace, and know how to combine them with traditional tasks in a company. 

The second is “Roadmap for digital transformation: everything your SME needs to survive in the digital environment”. During this process, SMEs will be introduced to the digital tools they need throughout their value chain, helping them facilitate a digital transformation and become more resilient, while also helping them take advantage of new market opportunities.

The importance of these classes lies in the fact that digitalization is no longer viewed as a luxury, but a business necessity. It is the only way for organizations to survive, expand and remain competitive, while continuing to create new jobs internally. 

The pandemic caused a series of negative economic impacts for the different business sectors, including small and medium-sized businesses: The World Bank points out that the global economy entered a drastic contraction, shrinking by 5.2% in 2020 due to the health crisis. This affected more than 60% of SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean, endangering 2.7 million companies in the region.