Prosoft wants guarantee fund for software devt. financing

The Mexican government's software industry program Prosoft aims to set up a guarantees fund to allow local software companies access to financing, commerce and industry undersecretary Rocio Ruiz said Tuesday. Prosoft's other goals for next year include fomenting venture capital, harmonizing federal and state efforts to promote the industry, legislative changes, and the implementation of standard quality parameters, Ruiz told the opening ceremony of the Prosoft 2003 conference. Mexico's software industry comprises about 2,095 companies employing 110,000 individuals with annual sales of around US$600mn. The government's master plan for the industry calls has set targets of US$5bn in sales and over 300,000 jobs by the end of 2013. Prosoft has set up seven committees with private and public sector representatives to address areas that are critical for the development of Mexico's software industry: infrastructure, export promotion, human resources, the legal framework, domestic market, local industry, and skills. In particular, fostering domestic demand for software is key to detonating sector growth. Fundacion Mexico Digital, a public-private sector organization, was set up in August to modernize the retail, hotel, food processing and manufacturing sectors. The federal government has also started outsourcing its software and IT needs to help the domestic software industry. Social security agencies IMSS and ISSSTE as well as federal Internet agency e-Mexico alone have earmarked US$50mn for procurement from local firms between 2003 and 2006.