Novica will be in attendance at BTM 2022 in search of new suppliers to enhance its portfolio

USA - English

• Latin America - español

• Costa Rica is the second Central American country on the platform in terms of units sold.
• The "Successful Disabled Artisans" Foundation is one of the national suppliers Novica will meet with.

SAN JOSÉ, September 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 27, 28 and 29, the 24th edition of the Buyers Trade Mission (BTM 2022) will take place. The event is the largest business conference in Costa Rica's export sector and is organized by the Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER). This year, as well as returning to the in-person format, it will offer small and medium Costa Rican companies the opportunity to meet potential trade partners from all over the world.

A total of 376 buyers from 46 countries are expected to participate, of which 186 will be in attendance and 188 will connect virtually. One of the attending buyers is Novica, the e-commerce platform for artisans and artists, which will travel to the Central American country in search of new suppliers to enhance its portfolio and offer more creations to its buyers from around the world.  

Novica is a socially-oriented e-commerce platform associated with other pages such as UNICEF, KIVA, World Bazaar and Pencils of Promise, among others. It takes artisans to over 100 countries, under the slogan Spread Happiness, with the promise of bringing the artisans into a global market of clients with social awareness, building a sustainable business for this kind of art and preserving traditional structures. It currently operates through the domains Novica.com, Novica.ca, Novica.de and Novica.uk.

The platform was born with the goal of improving the world for artisans. "Novica's mission has always been to spread happiness, making artisans happy and making customers happy, because by making artisans happy, we are able to improve their lives and their communities. And we make customers happy because they impact the world by buying handmade products directly from the artisans," said Alejandra Navichoc, the Director of Novica for Central America.

After Novica's participation in the 2021 Virtual BTM, where it recruited around 12 new Costa Rican artisans for its platform, this year it will attend the business conference and visit artisans from various regions of the country.

"BTM is a space that was created to generate opportunities for the small and medium-sized enterprises from Costa Rica in all sectors. Therefore, we are delighted that a buyer like Novica, with whom we share the purpose of improving the lives of people in all communities, is visiting us this year and wants to enhance its offering with Costa Rican arts and crafts. Through this, not only are we opening up opportunities so that the artisans can generate new business and bring wellbeing to their families, we're also promoting our culture in the more than 100 countries where Novica is present," explained PROCOMER's general manager, Pedro Beirute.  

Novica Central America has 500 profiles of Central American artists and artisans, of which 84 are Costa Ricans who sell products such as jewelry with natural stones and glass, jewelry with wire and precious metals such as silver, wooden products, textiles, resins, paintings, masks, sculptures, macramé, blown glass, ceramics, leather and cement products, among others.

According to Navichoc, Costa Rica is the second country from the Central American region on the platform in terms of units sold and its interest in discovering new Costa Rican products stems from the fact that Costa Rican products have been so well received by its buyers. In addition, "we would like to strengthen our relationship with the artisans we currently work with, to find out about their development plans and to assist them with facets such as new color trends and quality control, among other things that can increase their sales on the platform," added Novica's Director for Central America.

In 2017, PROCOMER established a relationship with Novica in order to offer another alternative to the Costa Rican artisan export sector. Over these years, thanks to the advice of the Promoter's E-commerce unit and Novica, national artists and artisans have managed to join the platform and sell their products.

Successful Disabled Artisans Foundation to meet with Novica 

PROCOMER, one of whose strategic pillars is inclusiveness, set up a meeting between Novica and the Successful Disabled Artisans Foundation, an organization whose mission is to provide hope to all people with disabilities so that they can improve their quality of life by means of group integration and seek to develop every artisan through workshops, recruitment and activities, regardless of gender, nationality, age, religion, race or culture.

The Foundation offers products such as artisan jewelry, fabrics, books, cards, ceramics, home accessories, confectionery, souvenirs, children's clothes, handbags, works of art, pet clothing, lamps, dolls, functional items and sculptures.

The meeting between Novica and the Foundation will take place during BTM at the Convention Center, where, as well as the business event, there will be a space for exhibiting their products.

BTM on the home straight

On September 27, the Convention Center will be the venue for the 24th edition of BTM, where more than 600 Costa Rican export companies will come together with the 186 international buyers visiting the country and another 188 who will be participating virtually.

Also, the so-called "Inverse Missions" will take place this week. These initiatives consist of visits from buyers from advanced industry and education services to Costa Rican companies and universities, to find out about their facilities and capabilities, and to analyze any potential to do business and/or form alliances.

As with previous years, there will be exhibition showcases for the national products; and the dynamic of the business meetings will be the same: the Costa Rican exporters have 25 minutes to present their product, prices and logistics aspects, among others things. Subsequently, PROCOMER will start its follow-up process to finalize any business opportunities that are generated.

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SOURCE PROCOMER