CAF and CNC to Lead Online Discussion on Panama’s Advances on Digital Infrastructure and as Digital Hub

In an effort to help empower Panama as a regional digital hub, which will foster Latin America’s technological development, CAF—development bank of Latin America—joined forces with the country’s Center for Competitiveness (CNC) to launch an online discussion group titled “Digital Infrastructures in Panama” on September 17, where experts from the sector will address issues such as opportunities for productive transformation in the context of infrastructure for the new digital economy, as well as the challenges and opportunities brought by the pandemic and what this entails for the different sectoral and cluster chains.

“Digitalization and infrastructure creation today are advancing at an unprecedented rate and have become an urgent task for all countries in the region,” CAF representative in Panama Lucia Meza said. “Over the past 10 years, Panama has made incalculable efforts to try to bridge the digital divide in the country.”

CNC chairman Irvin A. Halman stressed the importance of this event with industry leaders and experts in “identifying concrete actions to follow up on at the upcoming National Competitiveness Forum, where participants will discuss strategy, investment and regulations that stimulate the development of digital infrastructures on which competitiveness, productivity and innovation of the main sectors of the economy are based.”

Among the benefits of installing a regional digital hub is the possibility of reducing costs for operators in the region, which would help make service more affordable, mainly in countries such as Colombia, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua. As the digital hub gains traffic and members, new benefits linked to the development of e-government, the local digital economy and regional content are expected to emerge organically.

The event will feature the following speakers:

• CAF Representative in Panama Lucía Meza.
• National Competitiveness Center chairman strong>Irving Halman.
• Telecom Advisory Service and Columbia University business professor Raúl Katz.
• CAF Digital Agenda Coordinator Mauricio Agudelo.
• AIG General Administrator and Universal Service Access Board chairman Luis Oliva. .
• National Public Service Authority (ASEP) general manager Armando Alonso Fuentes Rodríguez .
• Peru’s telecommunications vice president Virginia Nakagawa.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) Central American, Caribbean and Andean public policies senior manager Natalia Iregui.
• Panama branch Tigo CEO Rodrigo Diehl.
• Cable & Wireless Panama CEO and general manager Julio Spiegel..
• CAF ICT and Telecom specialistEduardo Chomali .
• ECLAC Economic Affairs Officer Marco Dini.
• Inter-American Association of Telecommunications Companies secretary general Maryleana Mendez.
• Google director of government affairs and public policy in Spanish speaking countries Ana Lucía Lenis.
• Liberty Technologies CEO on behalf of CAPATEC Moises Abadi.
• Foodchain S.A. Cluster managerDavid Proenza.
• Panama’s public investment facilitation minister and CNC vice president Alejandro José Rojas.

“Digital Infrastructures in Panama” will address a few challenges and opportunities to help boost the country’s digital transformation, among which are the development of quality digital infrastructures, access of fiber optics in urban households, nationwide expansion of mobile networks and migration to 5G, as well as bridging the digital divide and total digitalization of households, while promoting the adoption and use of digital services such as e-commerce and e-banking, telework platforms and access to online education tools, among others.

The talk is organized by CAF—development bank of Latin America—and the National Competitiveness Center (CNC) in an effort to strengthening the roadmap for the consolidation of a digital hub in Panama.