PRONicaragua, the official investment promotion agency of Nicaragua, in coordination with the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America (FDRA), hosted the country's first international footwear investment forum titled “Nicaragua, The Right Step!” this past June 13th and 14th in Managua, where participants had the unique opportunity to learn why Nicaragua has become an attractive and increasingly competitive footwear production platform.

Who attended?

Footwear manufacturers

Manufacturers of components and accessories for the industry

Footwear brands

Industry associations

Retailers

Industry consultants

The program included speakers from:

Government of Nicaragua

Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America (FDRA)

Wolverine Worldwide Footwear

DR-CAFTA’s provisions for apparel and footwear

American Apparel Producers’ Network

Participants came from:

U.S.A.

Dominican Republic

Brazil

Venezuela

Central America

Mexico

Japan

Click on the following links to download the event's presentations:

International Footwear Market: Opportunities and Challenges - Matt Priest, President of the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America (FDRA)

Brown Shoe Company - Clayton Jenkins, Senior Vice President of Global Sourcing, Compliance & New Business Development of Brown Shoe Company

Footwear Manufacturing in the Western Hemisphere: Opportunities in Nicaragua – Mike Jeppesen, President of the Global Operations Group of Wolverine Worldwide Footwear

Nicaragua Country Presentation – Sergio Quiroz, Investment Promotion Manager of PRONicaragua

Discovering Nicaragua’s Footwear Potential: An FDRA Study - Matt Priest, President of the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America (FDRA)

CAFTA Treatment of Footwear: Opportunities for Nicaragua - David M. Spooner, Squire Sanders

Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union - Klara Kanska, EU Delegation for Central America and Panama

Free Trade Agreement between Mexico and Central America - Cristian Martinez Morales, Director for International Trade Negotiations of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade

Free Trade Zones – Carlos Zúñiga, Technical Director of the National Free Zones Commission

Temporary Admission System - Humberto Argüello, Technical Secretary of the National Commission for Exports Promotion

Labor Market in Latin America - Tania Arita Zelaya, Regional Manager of ManPower