Doha, Qatar – Friday, April 20 th, 2012

PRONicaraguas Background Who We Are PRONicaragua is the Official Nicaraguan Investment Promotion Agency. The agency was created in It is a public-private, non-profit institution, that is ascribed to the Presidency, with the mission to contribute to the countrys economic development. Administered as a UNDP program. Organizational Structure Market Intelligence & Communication, Investment Promotion and Aftercare Service, plus back office. Multilingual, internationally trained, locally experienced professionals Staff of 27 people / 30 year old average.

PRONicaraguas Services What We Offer Investors General information on regulations, legal framework, business opportunities and key investment information. Facilitation Services advising companies in their assessment by providing and helping analyze tailor-made information specific to their operations needs. Organization of customized site visits to learn about reality on the ground and meet key both public and private sector contacts. Introductions to local companies for possible joint ventures and identification of suppliers and other forms of business alliances. Assistance with identifying the ideal real estate options specific to the projects needs. Aftercare Services to support companies throughout the entire setup process and the operational phase. Also identifying main problems affecting investors to improve the business environment.

Why Investor Facilitation is Important Investment facilitation has allowed PRONicaragua to influence the natural flow of FDI into the country by being involved in a companys decision process. It allows Nicaragua to more effectively compete with other locations by providing information that is critical in the decision process and that may not be acquired easily by investors. Sheds a light on what are the critical issues investors evaluate in a given location, allowing PRONicaragua to work on improving them. Investment facilitation is important because it may well be the most effective opportunity a country has at positively influencing an investor.

What do investors need? 1.Quality information In order to make the final decision of selecting a location, investors require quality information that is timely, reliable and up to date. 2.Effective assistance Investors need the agencys support in setting up meetings, visiting potential sites, identifying local partners and getting a real sense of the investment climate in the country. 3.Fulfillment of the promise Once we have convinced a company that Nicaragua is the ideal place to invest, we must deliver and stand by that promise, providing aftercare services and working on improving the business climate.

Recognition for best investment promotion practices. World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA). IPA Performance Review 2006 (MIGA) Ranked 11th best national IPA in the world and 2nd best in Latin America Global Investment Promotion Benchmarking 2009 (GIPB). PRONicaragua ranks among the top 15% of evaluated agencies. IPA Performance Benchmarking 2005 MIGA PRONicaraguas performance has been subject to evaluations carried out by IDI Ireland (2005), MIGA (2004 and 2005), UNDP (2006) and the World Bank– FIAS (2009). These organizations have not only assessed PRONicaraguas results since its creation, but have also provided significant contributions toward the Agencys growth, presenting a series of suggestions and recommendations to further improve its performance. PRONicaragua Evaluations

Continuous Improvement Plan Motivated by the results of the 2009 GIPB, PRONicaragua decided to develop a work plan aimed at ensuring that the agency continued offering top-quality services: We set our goal: to achieve a Top 5 ranking in GIPB Carried out assessment of A. of O.: Using GIPB and internal process identified overall areas of opportunity and improved Inquiry Handling and Website procedures, amongst other issues. Defined M&E policies: created internal mystery investor methodology and practiced periodic evaluations.

Continuous Improvement Plan Motivated by the results of the 2009 GIPB, PRONicaragua decided to develop a work plan aimed at ensuring that the agency continued offering top-quality services and met the highest international standards in investment promotion, so as to be ranked within the top 5 positions in the World Banks next evaluation. The plan consisted in two basic tasks: Partnering with Harvard-affiliated business school INCAE to develop an comprehensive Continuous Development Plan that would allow the agency to improve its investor servicing, enhance its overall efficiency and optimize its resources. The study of the investment promotion best practices established by the GIPB, in order to implement an internal program to guarantee the agency complied with world-class guidelines in terms of investor servicing and using the website as a key marketing tool.

Inquiry Handling - Mystery Investor After the 2009 GIPB report, the agency has conducted three mystery investor exercises. Objective: Diagnose PRONicaraguas efficiency and quality in handling investors inquiries and identify opportunities for improvement. Dates of Execution: October 2009, May 2010 and December Reach: Each of the six sectors promoted by the agency. Methodology: Initially, the exercise was carried out using false accounts requesting basic information on each of the sectors. The last exercise was done with real inquiries that were selected from the two-month period before the evaluation. The mystery investor exercise became a key effort in ensuring and guaranteeing that the agency offered the highest level of investor servicing possible.

The following are the ten initial guidelines that were developed by the agencys Market Intelligence Department to evaluate investor inquiry handling: 1. Responding to the inquiry in 24 hours or less 2. Suggesting that the investor visits PRONicaraguas website to have access to additional information, as well as video testimonials 3. Offer a deadline for sending the information package 4. Complying with the deadline offered 5. Sending the information package in 7 days or less 6. Follow-up with the investor within 7 days of sending the information package 7. Request confirmation that the information package was received 8. Offer a conference call to do an FTP 9. Suggest a country visit 10. General follow-up The results of this initiative averaged a low 21.5%, as the investment advisors didnt have any guidelines that clearly indicated procedures, deadlines and follow-up protocols in handling investor inquiries. However, this set of indicators became the first guidelines developed by PRONicaragua and a key work tool for the investment advisors Inquiry Handling - First Mystery Investor

Inquiry Handling - Gudelines

Inquiry Handling – Current guidelines 1. Respond within one business day after receiving inquiry Inquiry Response (No later than) Tuesday 11th, 09:20 amWednesday 12th, 05:00 pm Friday 9th, 02:00 pmMonday 12th, 05:00 pm The Advisor will answer the mail the next business day during office hours. Example: The first is very important as it is the first impression the investor will have of the Agency. The first should be personalized, in other words, it will be directed to the person writing the inquiry and shall be written so that it appears that the Advisor read with interest the received mail. Example: An investor mentioned he found some information on our website but asks specific questions. The advisors response will never include an invitation to visit our website since the investor mentioned that s/he already visited the site, therefore should include something like this: Thank you for visiting our website, the information available is general information, but I can gladly prepare an information package which will address the areas of interest mentioned Respond in a personalized way FIRST - Response to Initial Inquiry

Inquiry Handling – Current guidelines 3. Send an overview of country and sector 4. Suggest visiting website It is important to maximize every contact with the investor. We have documents and attachments available that can be sent with the first response, especially if the investor requests specific information that we take time to prepare. Thus, the investor will be able to read information in advance. The documents submitted should not exceed 5 MB. Avoid Sending: -Very general or extensive information. -Very specific information o information that requires an explanation in order to understand the content. -Information in other languages. We should always encourage a visit to our website. The initial is an excellent opportunity to do so because it allows us to gain time as we prepare specific information that the investor may have requested. We should include a link to the webpage.

Inquiry Handling – Current guidelines 5. Provide deadline for delivery of information package The maximum amount of time shall be 7 calendar days from the date in which the investor´s initial was received. If the requested information is not extensive and can be delivered before the seven day maximum, then it should be sent before (the sooner the better). On the other hand, if the requested information is very specific and extensive, we should send the available information before the seventh day and offer to send the remaining information as soon as possible, preferably within the deadline. If the requested information consists of information or data that is difficult to acquire, we must ask for help (internally within PRONicaragua and externally) before the deadline expires. SECOND – Delivery of personalized information package 1. Meet the deadline We must ALWAYS comply with the promised date. If a scheduled Agenda, vacation, or special activity gets in the way, then we must send the information package before the promised date. Always remember: Underpromise and Overdeliver.

Inquiry Handling – Current guidelines 5. Provide deadline for delivery of information package The maximum amount of time shall be 7 calendar days from the date in which the investor´s initial was received. If the requested information is not extensive and can be delivered before the seven day maximum, then it should be sent before (the sooner the better). On the other hand, if the requested information is very specific and extensive, we should send the available information before the seventh day and offer to send the remaining information as soon as possible, preferably within the deadline. If the requested information consists of information or data that is difficult to acquire, we must ask for help (internally within PRONicaragua and externally) before the deadline expires. SECOND – Delivery of personalized information package 1. Meet the deadline We must ALWAYS comply with the promised date. If a scheduled Agenda, vacation, or special activity gets in the way, then we must send the information package before the promised date. Always remember: Underpromise and Overdeliver.

Inquiry Handling – Current guidelines 2. Quality of the information package The structure of the information package should be based on the specific questions of the consultation. The advisor, to the greatest extent possible, must respond to the investors inquiries in a clear, concise and personalized manner – that is, placing the name of the company in strategic locations in order to draw the investor´s attention. 3. Format of the information package All Information Packages must maintain a standard format with the information indicated below. It must always be sent in PDF format and should not weigh more than 5MB. We must not include responses in the body of the mail; we only include a brief summary of the points that have been included in the document.

Inquiry Handling – Current guidelines THIRD – Follow up on information package 1. Follow up within the next 7 days after the information package was sent. We must send an within seven calendar days after the information package was sent, in order to follow up and provide additional information or assistance if required. In this we must take the opportunity to: -Ask if there are questions about the information that was sent -Request or propose a conference call for clarification of doubts or to make FTP FOURTH – Final communication of initial response This fourth and last should be sent within 15 calendar days after the last communication. We will use the mail to: -Consult on project status -Suggest a visit to the country -Offer to include in the BDD of the newsletter

Inquiry Handling – Current guidelines FIFTH – Continous Follow up This fifth-mail must be sent within 30 calendar days after the last communication. We will use the mail to: -Consult on project status -Invite him/her to participate in a service survey (which will be online and have no more than 5 questions) This should NOT be the last . We should always look for opportunities or excuses to restart communication. For example: -News relevant to the company -News relevant to Nicaragua and the Agency -Invitation to a Forum or local event -Request an appointment if you visit the city where they are located

Lessons Learned The involvement of the investment advisors in perfecting the guidelines helped shed light on the main setbacks or obstacles they faced while handling inquiries. Through group discussions, these issues were addressed and resolved. The initiative led to the creation of a series of guidelines and a manual, previously inexistent, that gave investment advisors a clear protocol on how to handle investment inquiries. Additionally, several recommendations of the GIPB were incorporated into the process, including: Having branded, well-written, professional-looking materials. Developing a template for responses so that documents look professional. Providing responses in a single report or presentation with a table of contents. Meeting deadlines –or responding even sooner. Improving inquiry handling is an on-going process that requires frequent evaluation and revision of guidelines to ensure that procedures and protocols are in accordance to the agencys capacity and investors needs.

Website Improvement In the 2009 GIPB, PRONicaraguas website achieved an overall score 92%, ranking among the best in the world. However, the report indicated several aspects that could be improved in order to achieve an even higher score. Therefore, PRONicaragua took on the task of implementing several initiatives that helped improve the agencys website in this categories: Web Prominence A new version of the agencys logo was created in a website style format. Content is constantly being updated. Incursion into social media networks. Corporate Roles & Support The About Us page was updated and included further information regarding the agency, the services provided and contact information. Contact information for PRONicaragua was clearly posted on the websites home page as well as in every subpage in order to foster inquiries from investors. Use of Graphics Where possible, graphics, images and tables were added to the content in order to make the information more visual and easier to comprehend.

What have we accomplished? In GIPB 2012 only agency in the World to score Best Practice in every evaluation! Agencys direct results represent 15% fo the countrys FDI inflows approximately. Countrys return on investment for every dollar spent at the Agency is US$ and the cost per job created through the IPA is US$

Our message to other IPIs Understanding the investor mindset will allow an IPI make sure its efforts are effectively oriented towards investment attraction. An IPI that is well-structured, has clear strategy, a talented team and public-private support can have a deep impact in a countrys FDI attraction. Investment attraction goes beyond promotional efforts, it includes working to improve the investment climate, creating strategic alliances with national and international institutions, and following up on the development of investment projects. Top of mind is invaluable. In order to be known, we must communicate as much relevant country facts as possible. A nations wealth is no longer the determinant of excellence in investment promotion. Many middle income countries such as Nicaragua, Lithuania, Turkey, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Botswana, and Croatia have performed very well, often on very tight budgets. Global Investment Promotion Benchmarking 2009

What defines us? Believing firmly in our countrys potential Being passionate about the work we do Being overly creative in how we do it Never accepting that something is impossible Creativity + Capability + Commitment