Alma Del Toro, Co-Founder and Co-President of Blue Wave International Supplier Development Program Corporation, says three-quarters of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the company’s supplier development programs have expanded their business within a year of graduating.
“In aggregate, we have developed around 1,000 suppliers in the Americas, and 75% of them have explained to us that they’ve grown their business, either tap into new markets or scale, or have new clients or partnerships,” Del Toro said in an interview on the sidelines of the recent Suriname Energy Summit.
She noted that the program is best suited for SMEs ready to make a strategic leap.
“If you’re comfortable doing the business in the same areas with the same clients, probably we’re not the program for you, but if you’re willing to do all the work and stretch and think different and change your mindset… then that’s when we will say… the ideal candidate [is] the one that is willing to do the work and grow,” the Blue Water Co-Founder explained.
Del Toro, who has worked extensively with international energy companies, noted that health, safety, and security (HSSE) remain the top priorities when large operators consider SME partners in frontier markets like Suriname.
“Given the risk involved, HSSE is the number one priority for the energy sector,” she said, adding that other consistent requirements include cybersecurity and quality standards, aligned with the same procedures major companies apply to their own operations.
Staatsolie launched the BlueWave Supplier Development program in 2024 in collaboration with ExxonMobil and Chevron. The program aims to take the business operations of local companies to a higher level so that they have greater opportunities to supply goods and services to the offshore sector.
Chevron’s involvement is particularly noteworthy given its substantial stakes in multiple offshore blocks in Suriname. The company operates Block 5 with a 40% stake, Block 7 with an 80% stake, and holds a 67% stake in Block 42 and a 33% stake in Block 59. These interests position Chevron to make a critical contribution to developing local content in Suriname’s oil sector.
