After 20 years operating only in the Dominican market, in 2021 Altagracia Burgos managed, for the first time, to export its hair products abroad. It was not easy, especially due to the circumstances of the pandemic, but for her the obstacles do not exist.
“Obstacles are my main tools”This woman affirms with conviction that this year she became an exporter thanks to the support of the Center for Exportation and Investment of the Dominican Republic (ProDominicana) and other institutions.
His first exports were made to the United States, Sweden and Spain and from now on he does not intend to stop, but to seek more markets to continue expanding his company, Grupo Altamili, which employs around 300 people, mainly women.
“We have just started exports and for us it is a great challenge to continue exporting to more countries. But we are not going to stop”, He expressed after receiving the New Exporting Company 2021 award granted by ProDominicana for reaching the highest amount exported among the new ones that began to export during the 2020-2021 period.
Increase
The Burgos company is one of the 3,318 women-led companies that participate in the Dominican Republic’s export sector, according to the second edition of the study. "Women in Export: Towards Export Resilience" presented yesterday by the executive director of ProDominicana, Biviana Riveiro.
The document indicates that The number of companies led by women that made sales in the foreign market grew 7% in 2021 compared to 2020, going from 454 to 486.
The study establishes that 55% of these companies exported less than US $ 10,000, which means that the majority of businesses led by women are small.
Amount exported
“Dominican exports of companies led by women during 2020 register an exported value of US $ 1,904.4 million, thus exceeding the value of the year 2019 by US $ 250.5 million and reaching a historical record, surpassing the amount exported in 2016, the year in which the highest exported value of the last ten years was recorded ”, highlights the report.
The study specifies that, excluding gold values, exports of goods corresponding to women registered an increase of 10.5% in the period January-September 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.
The executive director of ProDominicana highlighted that the participation of women in productive sectors, such as the export sector, contributes to the development of the economy, increases the capacity to respond to the demands of international markets, among other benefits.
Display
During the meeting of women exporters, held at the ProDominicana headquarters, an exhibition of products of more than 24 exporting companies in the beauty sectors, fashion, jewelry, food products, home accessories, among others.
The event was attended by the Vice President of the Republic, Raquel Peña; the first lady, Raquel Arbaje; the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Ito Bisono´, among other officials and businessmen.
Acknowledgments
At the meeting, companies led by women that had a high performance during the last year in the categories “Export Leadership” were recognized; “High degree of internationalization”; “Performance of exporting SMEs” and “New Exporting Company 2021”.
The Pro-Internationalization award was given to Isabel Esteban, from the company Halka Industrial SRL, for her ability to export to more than 16 markets in 2021; The Pro-Pyme award was obtained by Laura Tosato from LMR Effects, for her export resilience and consistency in exports; and in the category “New Exporting Company 2021” Altagracia Burgos from Grupo Altamili SRL won, for reaching the highest amount exported among the new exporters during the 2020-2021 period.
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