CAF kicks off 50th anniversary celebration by promoting digital transformation of the State

Digitization of the State must become a determining factor in restoring public trust in public and private economic stakeholders, improving the quality of services and reducing corruption in Latin America. This was the premise of the discussion among leaders of government, private sector, academia and civil society during the CAF Seminar: The future of government in the digital age, held today in Mexico City.

At the opening session, executive president of CAF—development bank of Latin America—, Luis Carranza, underscored the relevance of the digital transformation to improve quality of services for citizens and to promote competitiveness and productivity with more efficient, agile, and enabling States.

“CAF, as a development bank operating for almost 50 years, wishes to assist governments in tackling these challenges. We hold a very strong bet on an inclusive digital agenda, because 180 million Latin Americans have no access to broadband internet. We are working with partners from the private sector and other multilateral agencies to bring internet for all in rural areas,” he added.

Mexico’s Secretary of Finance and Public Credit, Carlos Urzúa, highlighted procurement, resource dispersion and the Fintech Law as three elements in which digital transformation plays a pivotal role. He also emphasized CAF’s contribution in the last five decades. “CAF commitment to Mexico and the region remains unwavering since the nation joined as a shareholder in 1990, as the first non-Andean member to join the agency, known now as development bank of Latin America. In this connection, we reaffirm Mexico’s interest in engaging in a closer relationship with CAF for benefit of our nation and other partners in the region.”

In addition, the mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, presented the progress and challenges of the Digital Agency for Public Innovation (ADIP), including the creation of a public procurement platform that digitizes processes, a free connectivity plan with 25,000 hotspots in Mexico City, streamlining and digitizing 50 city services and procedures, and strengthening 50% of the technology infrastructure. 

“If we don't see digitization as a tool to eradicate corruption, improve the relationship between government and society, to make it more efficient and dynamic, which will allow us to encourage citizen participation in decision making and to bring about inclusive and sustainable development, we will lose sight the fundamental element of what we want to build, because digitization is a means, not an end,” added Sheinbaum.

The seminar was closed with a presentation of the CAF strategy for digital innovation of the State, which will promote more agile, open and innovative institutions that leverage new technologies and data intelligence applied to the improvement of governance at national, municipal governments and cities. This will be done along three priority axes: (i) strengthening of e-government and public innovation, (ii) improving regulations and streamlining procedures, and (iii) the development of transparency and public integrity mechanisms, explained the Director of Digital Innovation of the State at CAF, Carlos Santiso.

The Seminar: The future of government in the digital age marked the beginning of the CAF’s 50th anniversary, which will feature academic activities, conferences and events in member countries. Since it started operations in 1970, CAF has financed projects for more than US$175 billion to promote sustainable development and regional integration.