About — Pro Paraguay USA | 17 Departamentos Trade Bridge

English

Pro Paraguay USA — 17 Departamentos Trade Bridge is a bilateral trade facilitation initiative headquartered in Montgomery County, Maryland, designed to connect Paraguayan exporters with the U.S. Mid-Atlantic market. Founded by Wilfrido "Will" Risso, a trilingual entrepreneur and international trade facilitator with deep roots in both the United States and Paraguay, the initiative is built on years of relationship-building across two governments, multiple multilateral institutions, and the U.S. private sector.

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Pro Paraguay USA — 17 Departamentos Trade Bridge es una iniciativa de facilitación comercial bilateral con sede en el Condado de Montgomery, Maryland, diseñada para conectar a los exportadores paraguayos con el mercado del Atlántico Medio de los Estados Unidos. Fundada por Wilfrido "Will" Risso, un emprendedor trilingüe y facilitador de comercio internacional con profundas raíces tanto en los Estados Unidos como en Paraguay, la iniciativa está construida sobre años de construcción de relaciones entre dos gobiernos, múltiples instituciones multilaterales y el sector privado estadounidense.

Wilfrido "Will" Risso Founder, Pro Paraguay USA — 17 Departamentos Trade Bridge
Risso Holdings LLC · Montgomery County, Maryland

Who's Behind It / Quién Está Detrás

Will Risso

Founder Will Risso brings a rare combination: working relationships inside Paraguay's government and institutional ecosystem, paired with an active network across U.S. economic development agencies, universities, and trade specialists in the Mid-Atlantic. That dual access is the foundation Pro Paraguay USA is built on.

El fundador Will Risso aporta una combinación poco común: relaciones de trabajo dentro del ecosistema gubernamental e institucional de Paraguay, junto con una red activa de agencias de desarrollo económico, universidades y especialistas en comercio en la región del Atlántico Medio. Ese acceso dual es la base sobre la cual se construye Pro Paraguay USA.

Risso Holdings LLC, through the leadership of Will Risso, has built more than one bridge between Paraguay and the United States. Through the Paraguay-USA Technology Corridor initiative, now incorporated under Pro Paraguay USA, Will has engaged academic institutions including Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia, George Washington University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Queens College, and the University of Miami.

Risso Holdings LLC, bajo el liderazgo de Will Risso, ha construido más de un puente entre Paraguay y los Estados Unidos. A través de la iniciativa Corredor Tecnológico Paraguay-USA, ahora incorporada bajo Pro Paraguay USA, Will ha establecido relaciones con instituciones académicas incluyendo Princeton, UPenn, UVA, George Washington, NJIT, Queens College y la Universidad de Miami.

Track Record / Trayectoria

A Decade of Bridge-Building

He facilitated a strategic meeting at Princeton University bringing together the Ambassador of Paraguay to the United States, representatives of SEMI — the global industry association representing the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain — and municipal leadership from Chester, Pennsylvania, to discuss semiconductor workforce development and future U.S.-Paraguay technology collaboration.

Facilitó una reunión estratégica en la Universidad de Princeton que reunió al Embajador de Paraguay, representantes de SEMI (la asociación global de manufactura de semiconductores) y al liderazgo municipal de Chester, Pensilvania.

Most notably, Will personally initiated and facilitated a Sister City Memorandum of Understanding between Salto del Guairá, Paraguay, and the City of Chester, Pennsylvania, formally signed in a ceremony in 2025 attended by the Ambassador of Paraguay, Chester's Mayor, and the City Council President of Salto del Guairá. The agreement, which began as a routine event permit request, created a lasting framework for cultural exchange, education, tourism, and economic collaboration, and stands as a working proof of concept for the partnership model Pro Paraguay USA intends to replicate at scale.

De manera más notable, Will inició y facilitó personalmente un Memorando de Entendimiento de Ciudades Hermanas entre Saltos del Guairá, Paraguay y Chester, Pensilvania, firmado en 2025 con la presencia del Embajador de Paraguay, el Alcalde de Chester y el Presidente del Concejo Municipal de Saltos del Guairá.

IDB Leadership with WTC Miami and DCOBYS at World Trade Center Philadelphia

Meeting with Victor González Acosta from Paraguay WTC Asunción

Working Breakfast with Luciano Gasparini, Samuel Moreno from the IDB and Josh Fishbein CFO at the Global Business Forum

Exploring Exporting Products from the USA to Paraguay

Why Now / Por Qué Ahora

Paraguay is at a meaningful inflection point.

$19M IDB Funding Approved

$19M en financiamiento BID aprobado

Paraguay has $19 million in IDB-approved trade facilitation funding, actively seeking U.S. market partnerships and implementation vehicles.

Paraguay cuenta con $19 millones en financiamiento BID aprobado para facilitación comercial, buscando activamente alianzas con el mercado estadounidense.

30,000 Paraguayans in the Mid-Atlantic

30,000 paraguayos en el Atlántico Medio

The largest Paraguayan diaspora concentration in the U.S. is in our six target states, representing an immediate built-in market for authentic Paraguayan products.

La mayor concentración de la diáspora paraguaya en EE.UU. está en nuestros seis estados objetivo, representando un mercado inmediato para productos paraguayos auténticos.

Zero Market Saturation

Saturación de mercado cero

Paraguay has no dominant brand presence in the U.S. market. This is a first-mover advantage of historic proportions across multiple product categories.

Paraguay no tiene presencia de marca dominante en el mercado estadounidense. Esta es una ventaja de primer movimiento de proporciones históricas.

Government Actively Aligned

Gobierno activamente alineado

Paraguay's Ministry of Industry and Commerce is running active trilateral SME programs with USAID and Taiwan's ICDF — confirming institutional appetite for exactly this model.

El Ministerio de Industria y Comercio de Paraguay ejecuta programas trilaterales activos con USAID y el ICDF de Taiwán, confirmando el apetito institucional por exactamente este modelo.

Pro Paraguay USA exists to turn a decade of trust, relationships, and institutional access into lasting bilateral commerce — one product, one company, one department at a time.

Pro Paraguay USA existe para convertir una década de confianza, relaciones y acceso institucional en comercio bilateral duradero — un producto, una empresa, un departamento a la vez.

About Pro Paraguay USA