The recognition was made by Deloitte, Grupo Promerica and INCAE Business School.
Taken from Vida & Éxito. After a thorough review process of their corporate practices; the development of a business case with the help of expert coaches who spent more than 300 hours of consulting and an exhaustive evaluation, 18 companies in the region were recognized as Best Central American Companies 2022 (MECA).
For this second edition of the MECA program, a free participation initiative sponsored in the region by Deloitte, Grupo Promerica and INCAE Business School, a total of 129 companies from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic applied. Of these, 73 went on to the documentation phase, in which they developed their business case under the program's methodology, based on the 5 drivers of Deloitte's Value Map and its 36 management dimensions. Throughout this stage, the companies were advised by a group of 40 expert coaches from the three sponsoring institutions.
"The Best Central American Companies Program is a reflection of Deloitte's purpose: to generate a relevant impact on our professionals, our clients and society as a whole. In this particular case, our commitment to medium-sized companies in the region is not limited to recognition, but we provide them with a diagnosis that allows them to know the state of the main business variables that enable growth and also obtain recommendations to improve their management," said Carla Coghi, managing partner for Central America and the Dominican Republic at Deloitte.
The 32 companies that completed the documentation process were evaluated by a Technical Committee residing at Deloitte, to later present the results obtained to a Council made up of senior executives from the 3 sponsors, as well as renowned entrepreneurs, who analyzed the business cases and determined the list of the Best Central American Companies 2022.
"At Grupo Promerica we seek to support the growth of companies in the region. Through the MECA program, we want to recognize and promote those companies that stand out for their high level of performance in organizational and business management, being actors of change in the communities where they operate. We are very proud to sponsor this event, which undoubtedly boosts economic development in Central America," said Ramiro Ortiz Gurdian, CEO of Grupo Promerica.
This rigorous process resulted in the distinction of 18 companies in 5 countries in the region, which together generate more than 5,000 jobs. These are the companies recognized this year, in alphabetical order:
Executives from these 18 companies, together with distinguished personalities from the sponsoring institutions, attended a series of events held in San José, Costa Rica, where, in addition to receiving the award as part of the Best Central American Companies, they participated in talks given by experts from INCAE Business School, whose central theme was continuous improvement.
"For INCAE it is an honor to contribute to Central American companies through the dissemination of modern management concepts and techniques, accompanied by the strengthening of analytical skills and understanding of economic, political and social phenomena, so we clearly see the relevance of the MECA program in the region and understand why it is so important along with Deloitte and Grupo Promerica our participation as academic sponsors," said Enrique Bolaños, Rector of INCAE Business School.
It is important to mention that all companies that have completed this process, regardless of the result or whether they have obtained the MECA distinction, will receive a free and confidential feedback report that identifies their main strengths in terms of operation, competitiveness, marketing and financial viability, as well as a list of recommendations to address areas of opportunity and improve their performance.
MECA Awards Ceremony.
"Participating in the Best Central American Companies (MECA) process for the second consecutive year has allowed us as an organization to analyze our positioning in the market, finding ways to exploit our competitive advantages in order to add more value to our clients and take our services to new markets," said Pedro Cordón, Innovation and New Business Manager at CPX, a company recognized for the second time.
Diana Espinoza, Leader of Best Central American Companies, mentions that as a continuous improvement program, MECA allows companies to participate year after year, with the objective of strengthening their management practices through the methodology and support offered by the program. "Best Companies is more than a recognition, it is a program that promotes and develops medium-sized companies in the region, through the support provided to companies throughout the process, we seek that companies grow with us and contribute to the economies of the countries where they are located".
"A program like MECA seeks to contribute to the improvement of medium-sized private companies in the region and thus to their economies; we know that this program with a unique methodology contributes and impacts the entire backbone of companies, from their employees to their business model," explained Pilar Ruiz de Chávez, Deloitte Partner and Leader of Best Companies in Latin America.
