Light enters the Punta del Este Congress Center from the front, bearing the imprint of the brilliant architect Carlos Ott. And looking up, you see tech entrepreneurs from Korea and China. They mix with Europeans, Americans and those from the countries of the region. In the impressive conference room there are more of 500 companies from 50 countries. Argentines abound.
They were invited to the seminar Test and invest the Uruguay that the neighboring country has organized together with the IDB. The Advanced Leadership Foundation under the leadership of Juan Verde, former Obama adviser, has identified companies in the world that could find an opportunity in Uruguay to seek opportunities. There were 40 and several closed businesses.
Judging by the investment announcements and business rounds, Uruguay is a hiveBut that wasn’t always the case. What happened to such a big change? “A mix of democratic and economic stability, respect for institutions and rules that do not change “says Sergio Fogel, the creator of the Uruguayan unicorn Dlocal, who specializes in algorithms that allow platforms like Netflix to charge in local currencies in the countries where it operates. Fabrizio Opertti, IDB Integration and Commerce Manager, adds: “Uruguay is betting on technology. And he still has a long way to go. “
With them 1,000 software companies, the country generates $ 1,000 million in exports and if measured per capita it leads the world rankings. In biotechnology, yes Pasteur Institute of France, Microsoft just installed a services intelligence lab and got the business school of Harvard and MIT for a data science program. Its audiovisual sector is growing at exponential rates.
In his inaugural address, President Luis Lacalle Pou acknowledged his predecessors, “the visionaries who began to lay the foundations in the 1990s. Uruguay has talent, infrastructure, but the most important thing is the stability, long-term laws, compliance with contracts, strong institutions. It is a breeding ground for global initiatives. Everything that has been achieved was imperceptible and now it is an eruption, globalization has given these possibilities, the world has shrunk no matter where you live or work. The next frontier is for those who think outside the box, we have an obligation to become a hub for Latin America and beyond. Test Uruguay is coming to test small-scale innovations and then launch into the world, ”he invited.
In the room, the Argentines highlighted another paragraph of his speech: “I have 851 days of government in three years if there are other presidents and they are from the opposite party or from another ideology they will have the same guarantees. In Uruguay they can dream, take long-term risks and stand firm, “she promised.
The Minister of Industry, Omar Paganini, referred to the fact that it is the time to take the leap and become a regional innovation hub and that Uruguay goes from being a business center to a center of innovation. Of course, not all of them are rosy and many criticize the high costs. “We are not expensive in this sector in digital talent, we are internationally”, interrupted the minister.
There a very ambitious plan was announced. Carolina Gutiérrez is the Executive Director of the Innovation Hub. And she explains it this way: “A study has been done on competitive advantages, in the technological industries, where the country has a very high degree of connection, which has allowed the great development of the software. Another sector is that of renewable energy in a country where the 97% of electricity production comes from these sources and from biotechnologysince Uruguay has a community of 2,000 scientists recognized in the world “.
Inspired by Israel and from a public-private perspective, they devised a system of funds and incubators for the development of these companies. They have an advantage. “The big basis is the legal stability to attract industries that require long maturation periods”, Explains Gutiérrez, underlining that there is an“ absolute political commitment, of alignment of ministries to accelerate this process ”.
Gabriela Couto, Founder and President, InnovaMarket Plaza and BioGerentes de Costa Rica warns that it is necessary incorporate new players into the propellers of innovation. And it distinguishes companies, governments, universities, entrepreneurs and banks. Carlos Batthyány, managing director of the Pasteur Institute in Montevideo, questioned, stressing that “none of our countries has been able to put a drug in the pharmacy”. Graciela Ciccia, Research and Development Director of the Insud Group, spoke about the little investment in the region in research and development.
Lisandro Bril, an Argentine investor, pointed out that if things go well, Uruguay could be the new Singapore. In the corridors we saw Gerardo Werthein, Facundo Garretón with strong investments in the cannabis industry, Roberto Wagmaister, founder of the Assa group and the current Price, Juan Procaccini. These Argentines highlighted the Uruguay’s political decision to expand the unicorn club led by dLocal, OrdensYa and Nowports.
A special case is the North American Newlab, an innovation company with extraordinary laboratories that help find solutions. Former Senator María Eugenia Estenssoro advises them and highlighted them Uruguay’s political decision to make innovation a national strategy. For Newlab it is his first landing in the region. He arrived in Montevideo with the encouragement of Mercado Libre and Globant, whose CEOs Marcos Galperin and Martín Migoya reside in Uruguay. MercadoLibre has 1,500 people hired and Globant employs another 1,000 people in Uruguay.
Source: Clarin
