April 2, 2021
OAS-led Americas Competitiveness Exchange Program receives $1.57m from the U.S. Department of Commerce to Rebuild Trade and Investment Networks Post-Pandemic
The Americas Competitiveness Exchange (ACE) program has been awarded $1.57m from the United States Department of Commerce, through the Economic Development Administration (EDA), to help rebuild and re-establish trade and investment networks in the Americas and accelerate recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. This EDA grant, to be matched with $1.6m in local investment, will support what has become the premier economic development, innovation, and entrepreneurial network of the Americas, and a mechanism for economic recovery and resiliency.
The ACE is implemented through an ongoing partnership between the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of State and the Organization of American States (OAS), through its Secretariat for Integral Development. Each ACE edition connects decision-makers from the public and private sector in the Americas to a region’s new business opportunities, innovation hubs, flagship sectors, strategic investment, and research and development centers. On behalf of the OAS, the Executive Secretary for Integral Development, Kim Osborne, expressed her gratitude to the Government of the United States, and said “in the wake of this pandemic which has so negatively impacted the economies of the region, this new ACE grant is most timely, as it will help reconnect communities with international trade, potential investors and supply chains, which they urgently need as they work to recover.”
The previous 12 editions of the ACE have been hosted by the United States, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Germany, Israel, and Mexico. It has a network of 2000+ stakeholders from 41 countries (32 from the Americas) and 36,000 beneficiaries. The United States will host the next two iterations of ACE in Colorado and Louisiana.