#ACXchange

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The Americas Competitiveness Exchanges (ACE) is a regional initiative of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Competitiveness Network (RIAC). Ministers and High-Level Authorities of the countries of the Americas approved ACE as one of the main activities of the 2016-2018 RIAC’s Work Plan.

The ACE was originally created by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of State and the Organization of American States (OAS) as RIAC Technical Secretariat.

The objective of the ACE is to showcase successful examples of entrepreneurship, innovation, strategic investments and public-private partnerships from a specific region/country that contribute to the economic development at the local, national, and regional levels. The event brings around 50 economic and political decision makers from across the Americas and beyond for a five to six-days tour of innovative hubs, leading firms, and educational and research institutions. The ACE is the ideal opportunity for decision makers to explore local and regional economic development models, share experiences and knowledge, build networks between the local and visiting stakeholders, and establish long-term collaborative partnerships to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems of the Americas and beyond.

The tours showcase universities, centers of innovation, hubs, and clusters from different industries such as Information Communication Technology, Bioscience, Cleantech, Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing, Agribusiness, Financial technology and cybersecurity.