Continuous improvement: the engine of the region’s companies

• Dominican business owners are encouraged to join the Best Central American Companies programme, where they will receive guidance on value creation, sales growth, operating margin, asset management, strengths and external factors, talent and sustainability.

March 2023.- Deloitte, Banco Promerica and INCAE Business School held a talk for Dominican business owners on the Best Central American Companies (MECA) programme, which focuses on continuous improvement as a key factor in the business model of companies seeking operational excellence.

MECA seeks to recognise the operational excellence of mid-sized private companies in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama that stand out for their management and financial performance, through a continuous improvement process that guides participating companies, providing them with a free feedback report prepared by a multidisciplinary team of experts that identifies their main strengths and areas of opportunity, as well as a regional benchmark of the company against its industry.

The programme drives continuous improvement by identifying areas of opportunity and sharing best practices from the business community, not only in Central America but globally, said Marianela Borjas, Risk Advisory Partner at Deloitte.

For Banco Promerica Dominican Republic, executive president Carlos Julio Camilo spoke of how important it is for the institution not only to bring the best financial solutions to its customers but also to support them in their development. “We are delighted to encourage our business customers to join this prestigious programme, which provides free support and feedback thanks to this alliance between Grupo Promerica, Deloitte and INCAE Business School.”

To take part in the third edition of MECA, Dominican companies must register before 15 April at:www.mejoresempresasdelatinoamerica.com/MECA. There is no cost at any stage of the programme, and companies only need to meet the following requirements:

• Be a private company, majority-owned by capital from the region
• Have annual sales of between US$3 million and US$40 million
• Have been operating for at least 5 years, with profits in at least 2 of them
• Submit audited financial statements for the last 3 years  
• Be willing to share information about their strategy and results in order to obtain a comprehensive diagnosis that supports the company’s decision-making.

Since 2021, the Best Central American Companies (MECA) programme has been driven by Deloitte, Grupo Promerica and INCAE Business School, which also take part in the advice participating companies receive: a multidisciplinary group of experts from the three organisations provides guidance and identifies each company’s main strengths and areas of opportunity, using a methodology that is the result of the programme’s thirty years of experience worldwide. It is a working model that shows how a company creates “value” and what actions it should take to improve its results through five drivers:

1. Sales growth
2. Operating margin
3. Asset management
4. Strengths and external factors
5. Talent and sustainability

Diana Espinoza, head of Best Central American Companies, highlighted that every company that completes the documentation process, regardless of the outcome, will receive a comprehensive diagnosis, which will be vital for reinventing itself and making strategic decisions that contribute to growth across the organisation.

This year the programme was presented at an in-person event held at the JW Marriott hotel in Santo Domingo, attended by a group of Banco Promerica business customers in the Dominican Republic, together with executives from the bank, Deloitte and INCAE Business School.

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About Banco Promerica

Headquartered in Santo Domingo, Banco Promerica is a multiple bank with 22 years of local presence, focusing on personal customers, small and medium-sized businesses, corporate and institutional clients, and the Payment Methods business. Banco Promerica is a member of Grupo Promerica (through the holding company Promerica Financial Corporation), made up of nine banks operating in Central America, Ecuador, the Cayman Islands and the Dominican Republic.

Through the financial services it offers, Grupo Promerica constantly contributes to financial inclusion and to the economic progress of the societies and communities it serves.

Find out more about AF Comunicación Estratégica and its clients