Virtual Tech Mission to Panama
The Netherlands Embassy in Panama-City & Holland House Panama are organising a Virtual Mission to Panama from 25-27 October. Innovative companies in digital technology from the Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten are invited to participate in this unique 3-day digital trade mission.
The mission will be led by Fabia Tetteroo-Bueno, CEO of Philips Latin-America and implemented with the support of local partners in the technology field such as the City of Knowledge, the technology chamber CAPATEC and Panama Pacifico. The mission is sponsored by Philips Latin America, which has its headquarters in Panama-City.
The mission focuses on digital tech solutions for the following promising sectors:
* Logistics & Port digitalization
* Health (Digital Health / Health Tech)
* Financial sector (Cybersecurity / Fintech)
* Government (E-government solutions)
Opportunities in Panama
Due to its central location, excellent maritime and airline connections and favourable business climate, Panama is frequently referred to as the ‘Hub of the Americas’. The high-income & high growth country in Central-America is a regional trade, logistics and financial centerthat has attracted many Dutch businesses (NL is currently the No. 3 investor in Panama). Panama is well on its way to becoming a Digital Hub as well. It is on the crossroads of 7+1 submarine fiber optic cables (the Google Curie cable is under construction) providing reliability of data and voice transmissions and the highest fixed internet speed in Latin-America. Together with fiscal and migration incentives for tech companies, it is the ideal investment location and export destination for Dutch start-ups and scale-ups in digital technologies.
A few examples of opportunities
Maritime & Logistics: the port infrastructure needs to be modernized and connected to various digital platforms, using business analytics and data. This creates opportunities for big data, AI and software companies in logistics and training and consultancy services in these areas.
Health Tech / Digital Health: Panama is resuming works to build a Health City which will house 43 operating rooms, 1,235 beds and offices for various medical specialties. This is expected to drive demand for medical devices and digital health solutions.
Banking: mergers and acquisitions, use of digital technologies, entry of fintech and an increased cybersecurity risk represent opportunities for Dutch companies that offer IT solutions for this sector. Fintech is seen as an opportunity to further strengthen Panama’s position as an international financial center.
E-Government: Panama has an active digital transformation strategy, promoting digitization of procedures and processes, digital identity solutions, means of digital payments and easier access to services through digital platforms. Recently the CAF – Development Bank of Latin-America committed 350 million USD to support Panama in implementing the strategy.
E-Commerce / Retail: the e-commerce market in Central America & the Caribbean increased with 40% from 2019 to 2020. Panama has the largest e-commerce proportion of total retail sales in Latin-America, even surpassing markets such as Brazil where e-commerce represents around 7.8% of total sales. This creates e-commerce opportunities for digital marketing, e-commerce platforms and big data (analytics) companies.
Key mission features
✅ Virtual platform showcasing your company
✅ Customized matchmaking with 4-6 targeted potential clients and partners
✅ Thematic webinars (on digital health, cybersecurity /fintech & more)
✅ Virtual visit to the City of Knowledge & Panama Pacifico tech hubs
✅ Official presentation of the study on opportunities in the tech sector in Panama carried out by Holland House Panama & commissioned by NLinBusiness in the Netherlands.
Cost & registration
The participation fee is 500 EUR per company (invoiced in US dollars). A maximum of 10 companies from the Kingdom of the Netherlands can participate. One customized matchmaking programme per company.
Interested? Kingdom companies can register via this registration link
Please note: a confirmation of registration is not confirmation of participation. Applications will be assessed against focus topics of the mission, amongst others.
More info & questions: Holland House Panama, Remco de Bruijn, rdebruijn@hollandhousepanama.com