Merchants, entrepreneurs, and managers of small and medium-sized enterprises participated in a training proposal developed in the city of La Rioja and in Chilecito. The vice governor Teresita Madera accompanied the activities, organized through joint work by the provincial Legislature, the Centro Comercial e Industrial de La Rioja, and the Confederación Argentina de la Mediana Empresa. The program aimed to provide tools applicable to businesses facing rapid changes in their markets.
The sessions were taught by Néstor Rabinovich, a consultant specializing in SMEs and family businesses. The content addressed negotiation, sales, and new ways of thinking about business management. The choice of these topics responded to a specific difficulty raised during the meetings: small firms need to review how they organize themselves, how they present their offer, and how they make decisions when the competition changes the usual conditions.
Madera stated that the intensity of the competition forces each small business to re-examine its own operations. She linked that need to changes in consumer habits, the growth of digital platforms, and the pressure that physical stores endure. Training was therefore presented as a space to turn that diagnosis into concrete tools that can be incorporated into daily activity.
The president of Centro Comercial e Industrial de La Rioja, Juan Keulian, thanked the support of the Legislature and the vice governor for making the initiative possible. He also emphasized that the update must be continuous and that the skills developed are not limited to the moment of selling. His position expanded the purpose of the sessions to include negotiation with suppliers, internal management, and the general adaptation of each enterprise.
The second stop was held in Chilecito, with the participation of representatives from the commercial and business sectors and the support of Mayor Rodrigo Brizuela y Doria. The mayor highlighted that local commerce generates employment and economic activity, and defended the arrival of training tools for those maintaining their businesses in a demanding context. The territorial extension allowed the activity not to be concentrated solely in the provincial capital.
The proposal is part of the coordination that the Legislature promotes with business chambers to strengthen the capabilities of the commercial and SME sector. No lines of credit, financial contributions, certifications, or a new registration date were announced at this stage; the immediate outcome is focused on the knowledge shared during the sessions. The next step will be to determine whether institutional cooperation will support new training and turn this experience into a regular agenda for other localities and sectors.
