Telefónica and CAF reaffirm their strategic collaboration to promote digitalization in the region

Telefónica and CAF – development bank of Latin America – renew their strategic collaboration agreement for the development of initiatives that allow for an acceleration of digitalization in the region through effective cooperation to move towards a more just, inclusive and sustainable society by promoting transformative measures, of a transversal nature, that contribute to achieving milestones on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined in the 2030 Agenda.

The alliance, which is valid until 2022, aims to serve as a catalyst in this post-COVID scenario where everything has been accelerated and transformed, opening it to other entities and governments, in order to constitute public-private consortia to promote an economic-social recovery that leaves no one behind and benefits from the opportunities and advantages that the new digital society offers.

For José Antonio García Belaunde, CAF's representative in Europe, continuing to join forces with a strategic partner such as Telefónica is extremely essential for the digital transformation of Latin America. "After the serious health, economic and social crises that the region has had to go through with the pandemic, it is more necessary than ever to promote programs, projects and initiatives that contribute to closing the existing digital divide and promote more connected and developed societies," said García Belaunde.

Trinidad Jiménez, Global Director of Public Affairs and Strategy, said, "The 2030 Agenda recognizes the essential role of organizations in achieving the goals and it is everyone's responsibility to accelerate them significantly. Therefore, the alliance between Telefonica and CAF is an example of key public-private collaboration to promote, drive and develop the digital transformation of the region."

Transformative Projects

Telefónica and CAF joined forces in 2017 and as a result of this first stage, actions have been developed on three axes: connectivity; digital transformation; education and training.

Internet for All

"Internet for All" is framed under the premise that open markets and world trade remain the best model for bringing prosperity to all and that globalization and digitalization must benefit more people everywhere, regardless of where they live or are. This project, which has the participation of CAF, Telefónica, IDB Invest, and Facebook, aims to reach more than 6 million Peruvians in rural localities of the coast, mountains and jungle of the country with 4G mobile broadband coverage.  IpT was launched commercially in May 2019 and in two years of operation has managed to improve the quality of life for more than 2 million Peruvians from 12,000 communities in 23 of Peru’s 24 departments through the benefits and opportunities of connectivity by having access to telemedicine, digital education and borderless business development. In addition, IpT's 4G coverage reached more than 18,000 educational institutions in 2020, facilitating tele-education programs led by the Ministry of Education of Peru in response to the situation of isolation generated by Covid-19.   

Digital Transformation for Productivity

After the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, getting back on track for economic growth will depend critically on the ability of economies to increase their productivity and on the different sectoral chains adapting to new operating schemes characterized by low contact. As such, in 2020, CAF, with the support of Telefónica, launched the Regional Strategy for the Digital Transformation of Productive Sectors, with a practical application to the digitalization of the agro-industrial chain of the Ica Valley in Peru. This strategy promotes the use of digital infrastructures and technologies in production processes, as well as contributing to overcoming productivity traps in the region. The development of digital transformation roadmaps for production chains was also approved for Ecuador and the digitalization model will be developed in 2021.  

Forming Digital Policy Skills

And because digitalization on its own is not enough, the third axis of collaboration is considered fundamental, because people are the ones who manage to carry out the changes, and therefore it is vital to address inequalities by investing in the training of digital skills and abilities, as well as sharing the new knowledge generated. During this stage, throughout all the initiatives carried out, more than 87,000 people have registered for both courses and events on digital agenda, the use of data and artificial intelligence. In this sense, we should highlight the development of a comprehensive agenda of knowledge and training for the authorities and regulators of the region with the development of the IBEI-ECLAC-CAF Summer School that has the support of the Telefónica Chair. This initiative addresses the challenges of digital transformation and innovation in Latin America and aims to present and deepen a series of topics related to digitalization and its impact on closing the digital divide, employment, the digitization of production through Big Data, artificial intelligence and blockchain, as well as the regulation of innovation from a comparative perspective of Europe and Latin America. This initiative has involved 150 digital policy authorities from 16 Latin American countries.