The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will finance the design, construction and start-up of the headquarters of the Government Digital Innovation HUB, which will house the technical areas related to the process of digital transformation and cyber security, with a contribution from $60 million.
Through the signing of the “Digital Panama” loan contract by the Minister of Economy of Panama, Héctor Alexander, and the President of the IDB, Mauricio Claver-Carone, efficiency will be increased in the provision of procedures and services, taking into account account the improvement of cybersecurity, data protection, the reduction of costs in interactions with the public administration, as well as adequate data management. The operation will also prioritize the most vulnerable populations, especially indigenous women.
“The IDB is fully committed to the digital transformation of Panama. This transformation towards a digital economy will contribute to the country’s sustainable development, improve its competitiveness and help create more and better jobs,” said Claver.
The event was held after the bilateral meeting between President Claver-Carone and the President of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, in which he reiterated the IDB’s interest in continuing to support Panama’s economic growth, as well as strengthening its fiscal management and its insertion in regional value chains.
“Panamá Digital” continues the work started in 2016 through the “Panamá en Línea” operation, with which the IDB is supporting the country in making around 400 online procedures available to citizens and companies nationwide , including the vaccination record against COVID-19.
For his part, Minister Alexander stressed that this program will have a significant impact on the economic development of the country, by allowing the digitization of institutional and inter-institutional processing processes, helping the private sector to reduce the time and costs of its procedures; both at the level of companies, citizens and the State.
