English learning as a mean for economic development is one of the pillars of U.S. government’s presence in Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul
Porto Alegre, November 23, 2020: The partnership between the U.S. Consulate General and Sebrae/SC that trained entrepreneurs seeking to internationalize their business had a closing event today, Monday, 23. The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), Business and Entrepreneurship program, was a joint initiative of the Regional Office of English Language of the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia, and Sebrae’s Go to Market program, which encourages the internationalization of small businesses.
A MOOC aims to provide its participants with career development insights, advanced studies, personal growth and learning new skills. For seven weeks, Dr. Darlene Dockery, a English teaching expert, met virtually with participating entrepreneurs who also received assistance from native teachers to practice English.
To speak English is fundamental to leverage business in the outside world. According to the Internationalization Manager of Sebrae / SC, Filipe Gallotti, the goal of the course was to prepare entrepreneurs who still did not feel confident in seeking the internationalization of their business because they did not have so much fluency in English. “With fluent English, entrepreneurs feel prepared to become competitive in the global market. We are sure that this course was a very important step in the preparation and training of entrepreneurs, which ensured new opportunities and contributed even more to the development of the State of Santa Catarina”, he adds. Similarly, Shane Christensen, U.S. Consul General in Porto Alegre, welcomed the initiative: “The joint promotion of economic and social development is one of the great objectives of our operations in Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. I hope that the outcomes of this program will increasingly boost Santa Catarina’s business towards the United States, and vice versa.”
In addition to the Consul, Jennifer Uhler, Regional Director of the English Language Office – RELO and Maitê Bustamante, president of the Fiesc Chamber of Foreign Trade, participated in the closing. The mediation of the event was carried out by Filipe Gallotti.
At the event, the results and experience of entrepreneurs who have already participated in the program were discussed by Joice Sabatke, founder of Selfsy Alimentos, André Ricardo Kuntze, head of Appizz Technologies, Fabricio Zen, Mercantile Import CEO and Fabiano Luiz Tristão, Disruptive Technology CEO.
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For further information on this Press Release, please contact the U.S. Consulate Press Office in Porto Alegre at portoalegreimprensa@state.gov or on (+55 51) 98196-0205. Follow us on Twitter and Flickr.
