UAE is key digital economy partner for Latin America: Industry experts

The UAE is an essential digital economy partner for Latin America, according to industry leaders speaking at the fourth edition of the Global Business Forum Latin America (GBF LATAM 2022) in Dubai.

A panel session at the forum entitled Empower - Fostering A Digital Economy was joined by Min Chen, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wisy, Panama’s first unicorn start-up based in San Francisco, and Alaa El Huni Head of Partnerships and Expansion at Cafu in UAE, on the importance of the digital economy in supporting economic growth.

The panellists discussed how the UAE has created a stimulating environment for the growth and development of digital companies and noted that Latin American markets are rich in human expertise and competencies specialised in digital transformation.

The discussion also explored the actions of companies and governments in Latin America and the Caribbean during the COVID-19 pandemic to increase the use of technology and digital services, which has enhanced technical capabilities in many countries and laid the foundations for a new digital future. This was despite a digital divide throughout these areas and differences in terms of infrastructure and investment in human capital. The session also highlighted the areas that policymakers should focus on to foster a promising digital future.

Alaa El Huni stressed that Dubai in particular, and the UAE in general, provides a nurturing environment for the development and growth of technology sector companies, due to its strong digital infrastructure and comprehensive digital services, attributes that push companies to move forward in the field of the digital economy and design more innovations and important services that support digital communities.

El Huni explained that investing in human capital is one of the most important elements that have benefitted from the Latin American markets. He said that since its establishment three years ago in the UAE, his company Cafu has attracted skills from across the Latin region, which has had an effective role in the growth of the company’s business.

DP World: Latin America a market of strategic importance to DP World, which is handling $3.5 trillion worth of global trade every year, Sultan Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, revealed today at the Global Business Forum Latin America 2022 in Dubai.

“Today we handle 75 million containers around the world and in value that is about almost 11 per cent of all trade in dollars. It’s three and a half trillion dollars of cargo that moves every year into our terminals around the world. That’s four hundred thousand dollars worth of cargo every hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” he said. Bin Sulayem drew attention to the evolving role of his company that was enabling it to expand its services, saying that it had moved progressively from purely port operations to logistics and ensuring strong supply chains, with improving efficiency a key objective.

“DP World started out as a port operator - today, we are a logistic enabler. We don’t do just port operations, we do a lot of other activities in the supply chain. And the supply chain is the most inefficient business in the world today, one that has never been disrupted,” he said.

WAM