“MSMEs can produce export-quality and highly demanded goods in the international market. Exporta Fácil is a mechanism designed to grow and expand our businesses.”
ALPACAMONTOYA S.A.C., as well as its brand tualpaca.com, was created in 2008 thanks to the initiative and entrepreneurship of Nancy’s father, Andrés Montoya. It is a family-run business engaged in the export of alpaca clothing and alpaca fur articles. At the beginning, it was run by three members of the family, and a nephew was in charge of the website and of seeking new clients. Now they are five, and they all consider their suppliers, many of them craftspersons from Lima, Arequipa and Cusco, as their strategic partners.
Nancy learnt about Exporta Fácil through advertisements published in some newspapers from the capital city, but got more information when she took an order to an office of Serpost, the Peruvian postal service. There, she found out about the advantages of Exporta Fácil —namely, small packages can be sent; a compensation is received in cases of loss, which is a benefit not available when a private courier is hired; the system to fill out the forms is plain and simple and can be used from any computer, in addition to the fact that the general sales tax (IGV, in Spanish) refund procedures are very easy to follow. No private courier includes this benefit, as their deliveries do not involve any export document.
Their first sale under this system was to Australia. All the required documents were submitted. Then, Nancy took the big box to Serpost, and it was all very easy. However, the parcel did not appear as “delivered.” So, Nancy got in contact with the client, who explained that as the sale was closed at an amount higher than one thousand American dollars, some taxes had to be paid. Thus, she learned that it was necessary to study the regulations in force in the countries of destination to inform the buyer properly.
At times, it is hard for start-ups to get new clients, but with Exporta Fácil they can start gradually and increase their sales over time. Alpaca Montoya recommends using Exporta Fácil, because it is important for businesses to go international and this system offers the opportunity to get to many countries.
“At times, it is hard for start-ups to get new clients, but with Exporta Fácil they can start gradually and increase their sales over time.”