WHY ESTERNA?


Esterna srl is a consulting firm for industrial and business cooperation, technical and financial assistance for the development of projects to benefit less-developed countries through marketing and public business relations.
We are concerned with promoting European Community programmes to benefit LDCs (less-developed countries) and multilateral bodies concerned with international cooperation.
In particular, Esterna's partners, over the years, have developed consolidated experience in providing SMEs with advice for the creation of joint ventures and industrial collaboration agreements through implementation of:

Project Planning:
· Company check-ups and opportunity hunting
· Assessment of investment projects
· Formulation of business plans
· Selection of institutional partners and financial partners
· Analyses and research in the local area with particular
reference to area-related macroeconomic indicators
· Handling international contract matters.

Promotion of industrial collaboration between SMEs and less-
developed countries
· Assistance during negotiation of the cooperation
agreement's terms
· Formulation of offers
· Preparation of feasibility study plan
· Negotiation of terms and drawing up of business
agreements, know-how transfer licences
· Drawing up of joint venture agreements
· Assistance in transferring technologies and systems
· Assistance with startup
· Attendance of associate companies' Board meetings
· Aid in settling disputes

Assistance in identifying forms of funding for internationalization of enterprises:
· Use of Italian legislative decree (Dlgs) 143, former
Ossola law 227/77, for export credit
· Setting up forms of security for credit:
forfaiting, silent confirmation/corporate risk, bid bond,
performance bond, advance payment bond
· Setting up export financing, international leasing,
countertrade operations
· Taking part in international tenders
· Procedures for admission of buyer's credit or supplier's
credit as ECGD coverage
· Monitoring government credit facilities granted to LDCs
(MCC - central medium-term credit institution)
· Use of law 212/92 for collaboration with countries of
Central and Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, for the
purpose of vocational training, technical assistance and
feasibility studies
· Use of law 84/2001 for the Balkan area
· Use of laws 49/87, 100/90 and 19/91 encouraging use of
Italian capital to aid-finance joint ventures, and promoting
creation of joint ventures in LDCs
· Use of laws 394/81 and 143/98 to set up programmes for
penetration in business markets for the purpose of creating
lasting installations in non-EU member countries, and to
set up technical assistance and feasibility study
programmes associated with exports and Italian
investments abroad
· Activating financial resources granted to LDCs for the
development of economic cooperation programmes by the
World Bank, EIB, IBRD
· Activating financial resources awarded as part of community
programmes for locating suitable partners and setting up
investment projects in non-EU countries.
· Assistance with investments and purchasing of shares in
foreign companies.

Development and Cooperation Programmes
· Management and development of Technical Assistance
projects (law 212 Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs)
· Management of tenders and supply contracts financed by
the EFD (European Fund for Development).
· Management of Technical Assistance projects for countries
that are the beneficiaries of projects financed by the
Phare/Tacis programme
· Management of projects in EU pre-accession countries
(ISPA-SAPARD community programmes)
· Management of projects as part of the INTERREG III
community programme
· Entrusted management, in the name and on behalf of the
beneficiary countries, of "commodity aid" and "programme
aid" financed by the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs,
furnishing technical-financial assistance to state
organizations and/or to the private sector in LDCs
· Technical assistance provided to Governments and
international organizations to identify and monitor projects
· Determining sources of financing for SME cooperation
projects
· Formulation of local partner factsheets
· Organization of workshops and operational meetings.

Public relations
Handling presentation and coordination of projects with the Italian Ministry of Productive Activities (former Ministry of Foreign Trade), Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, IFC, EBRD, UNIDO
· Development and consolidation of relations with the
Government institutions and Embassies of countries taking
part in cooperation projects
· Training for enterprises, research and market surveys,
organization of conferences, shows, exhibitions for
promotional or cultural purposes, advertising in the audio-
visual, publishing and press field in general
· International conferences, and Workshop