Arca Continental and UANL Foster Small Business Development

•    Through the “Somos Locales” program, the company is training nearly 5,000 small business owners and offers more than 150 courses in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2026™
•    The Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon collaborates through the Monterrey World Trade Center–UANL, helping equip local businesses with tools designed to create impact well beyond the sporting event.

Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, May 11, 2026 – In anticipation of more than one million national and international visitors expected for the FIFA World Cup 2026™, Arca Continental announced the launch of “Somos Locales” (We Are Hosts), an initiative aimed at training nearly 5,000 small business owners in Monterrey to strengthen their competitiveness and create a lasting economic legacy for the city.

Monterrey will host four matches during the FIFA World Cup 2026™, all within a span of less than ten days, which is expected to significantly increase tourism and commercial activity. In this context, the program seeks to prepare local businesses to seize this opportunity and efficiently respond to the increased demand for goods and services.

Led by Arca Continental, “Somos Locales” includes more than 150 courses focused on key areas such as business administration and finance, customer service, digitalization, sales tools, and language training. The practical content is designed to strengthen the day-to-day operations of participating businesses.

The program is primarily aimed at establishments located in high-traffic areas, including the surroundings of Estadio BBVA and Parque Fundidora—host site of the FIFA Fan Festival™—where hundreds of small retailers, including restaurants, local eateries, bars, and convenience stores, are expected to experience a substantial increase in visitor traffic during the event.

In collaboration with the Monterrey World Trade Center at the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon (UANL), the initiative seeks to professionalize local businesses by providing tools that will generate impact far beyond the World Cup, strengthening their ability to grow and adapt in an increasingly competitive environment.

“At the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, we believe that sustainable economic development begins at the local level. Through the Monterrey World Trade Center–UANL, which has spent more than 20 years supporting micro and small businesses in our region, we are bringing together academic expertise and practical experience to help professionalize local commerce. Programs like Somos Locales enable academic knowledge to translate into stronger businesses, greater competitiveness, and an economic legacy that transcends major events such as the FIFA World Cup 2026™,” said Santos Guzmán López, President of UANL.

The program reflects Arca Continental’s commitment to creating shared value and growing alongside the communities it serves—a vision that has guided the company throughout its 100-year history as the first Coca-Cola bottler in Mexico. Under this approach, the company continues to promote initiatives that strengthen local economic development and contribute to community well-being.

“For more than a century, we have grown alongside small retailers, which were our first customers and remain at the heart of Arca Continental. Somos Locales reflects our commitment to creating shared value and being a good corporate neighbor, helping strengthen local commerce so that the FIFA World Cup 2026™ leaves a lasting legacy in Monterrey,” said Guillermo Garza.

Through “Somos Locales,” Arca Continental, as part of the The Coca-Cola Company system in Mexico, reaffirms its commitment to being a partner in Monterrey’s development and to building—together with local businesses—a legacy of shared prosperity leading up to the World Cup and beyond.

About the UANL

The Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon is a higher education institution founded in 1933 and is considered the third-largest public university in Mexico, with the broadest academic offering in northern Mexico. It offers 404 academic programs across high school, undergraduate, and graduate levels, serving more than 221,000 students and supported by over 7,000 faculty members across 29 high schools, 26 colleges, and 8 academic units, with a presence in 36 municipalities throughout the state.

Internationally, UANL has been recognized for nine consecutive years as the most sustainable university in Mexico, according to the GreenMetric World University Rankings.

For more information about UANL, please visit: www.uanl.mx

About Arca Continental

Arca Continental is a company engaged in the production, distribution, and sale of beverages under brands owned by The Coca-Cola Company, as well as snacks under the Bokados brand in Mexico, Inalecsa in Ecuador, and Wise in the United States. With an outstanding track record of more than 100 years, Arca Continental is the second-largest Coca-Cola bottler in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. Within its Coca-Cola franchise, the company serves a population of more than 130 million people across northern and western Mexico, as well as in Ecuador, Peru, northern Argentina, and the southwestern United States. Arca Continental is listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the symbol “AC.”
For more information about Arca Continental, please visit www.arcacontal.com
Media contact: saladeprensa@arcacontal.com