Costa Rica was selected by to inaugurate the 16th edition of the International Networking Week, which will take place from February 5th to 11th, 2023, in the country and in 76 other countries worldwide.
Steven Carvajal Ruffley, national director of BNI Costa Rica, explained that, precisely, the International Networking Week is a global initiative whose main objective is to celebrate the key role that networking plays in the development and success of companies in Costa Rica and around the world.
“This event is celebrated in the 77 countries of the world where BNI is active. Costa Rica is no exception. During the last 3 years, this Week has been celebrated in Costa Rica, but in a way that is more internal to the groups and companies that make up BNI Costa Rica. Not so much towards the country’s business community. For this year, we want to change this and include all companies and entrepreneurs at a national level interested in Networking”, said Carvajal.
For this 2023, it is sought to reinforce BNI’s commitment to the development of strong local business communities, to promote the reactivation of business economies, their collaborators and at the level of each of their countries.
He added that, with the objective of promoting Networking among the largest number of companies in the country, during the International Networking Week 2023, various activities are planned in the country, which will be led by the business groups that make up the networking community in Costa Rica. .
Among them, 10 open meetings will be held so that businessmen interested in learning more about the execution and incorporation of Networking as a business strategy in their businesses can participate. Of the total number of sessions, 7 will be face-to-face and 3 virtual, in which entrepreneurs or independent professionals may take part.
What is Networking?
Carvajal Ruffley explained that Networking, in recent years, has become one of the main commercial tools for companies. This is because, through this strategy, it allows them to build a network of business opportunities by generating relationships of trust with other entrepreneurs that can help them generate new business.
According to experts, one of the main benefits that this strategy achieves for companies or independent professionals is that it opens doors to potential clients that otherwise would probably never be contacted without help.
The national director explained that each businessman has his network of contacts, what we call ‘social capital’; that is, customers, suppliers, friends, former classmates from school, university, acquaintances from sports or hobbies, from the church or group, among others. In each of these there is a business opportunity or to create a business reference. That contact, where there has already been an introductory conversation, accelerates any opportunity to present the business.
Relying on people you trust
“Networking is the creation of contact networks where people and business owners can rely on people they trust. With this they help each other to solve their diverse needs. Working with your network of contacts is the most efficient way and the least investment in financial terms that a company can do to boost its growth. Building a solid network through Networking ensures that you are surrounded by multidisciplinary professionals, who will come to support this business development in the correct way. By doing so, the foundations of the companies will be more solid and that adds to their permanence over time”, concluded Carvajal Ruffley.
