by Carlos Pallottiformer CEO of Argencon
In the past 25 years, the technology industry – commonly called the “knowledge economy” – has experienced extraordinary growth in Argentina. From 15,000 jobs to 300,000 and from exports worth just over US$150 million to US$9.6 billion From the last quarter. This made this activity the third largest export complex and one of the main generators of employment in the private sector.
This growth has resulted from the massive digitalization of economic, productive and social processes, which has found in Argentina an innovative environment in which to offer the world. Qualified talent at a reasonable value.
In this context, thousands of companies were created, some of which were particularly successful. There are hundreds of companies with international recognition for their products or services and more than a dozen unicorns, the name given to companies that obtain a valuation of more than US$1,000 million in less than ten years. Among them is Mercado Libre, the most valuable company in Latin America.
The state at all levels He learned about this sector as its growth became more evident. It was generating promotional and development tools for the industry. The national administration took note of this in 2003 and promoted the matter “Software law”which is a very useful tool that quadrupled tax collection from the sector’s income and multiplied employment and exports by 10. Today this law has been transformed into “Knowledge Economy Law”was ratified – and improved – by all subsequent governments, becoming one of the few authentic state policies in our country. In this sense, the National Administration created a specific area to address the problems of the sector, which also remains in office today with the rank of Undersecretary. The industry was not immune to this, and continued to grow even in times of economic crisis.
SME Carlos PallottiRegional states and municipalities have also accompanied this process through various instruments focused on generating training, loans and subsidies, supporting entrepreneurs, reducing taxes, among other concrete measures to encourage the development of this sector.
In this way, I allow myself to emphasize that the state has taken note of two very important things: first, that it is a sector of the economy where the state I won’t have to compete but support, Secondly, it was his role Creating appropriate conditions To allow it to grow without too much interference and unnecessary regulations.
But the interesting thing about this growth, which was originally concentrated in the big cities, is that it has gradually become federal. Especially after the pandemic, governments have identified the importance of solving two main challenges to their economic development: preparing people and good connectivity.
Thus we find that in recent years, the so-called “internal” employment has been growing at a rate two or three times faster than the AMBA programme, and There are intermediate cities that grow more quickly.
This has motivated many provincial and municipal governments to create specific areas to serve this sector, or to promote concrete actions in cooperation with local business organizations. The provinces of Córdoba, Capa, Mendoza, Tucuman, Neuquén, Salta, San Luis, Catamarca and Misiones, among others, have been particularly intensive in thinking about policies aimed at promoting this sector. Or municipalities such as Tandil, Mendoza, Godoy Cruz, Río Cuarto, Rafaela, Mar del Plata, Yerba Buena and Córdoba, to name a few.
Spaces for technology parks, rezoning of neighborhoods into technology zones, incentives for investments, sponsorship of roadshows or trade missions, and training schemes have been created. On the other hand, decentralized public organizations such as the CFI, for example, or international credit institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank, the World Bank or the CAF, have been active in providing financial and promotional assistance.
In this context, what Entre Ríos has developed in Paraná is interesting and deserves a special highlight. A few days ago, MiradorTec, a huge technology building in the Paraná valleys, was inaugurated It includes companies and projects with great impact. It aims to be something like Synard Technology, where those developments that need to accelerate their projects or develop applications, services or products will have a space.
Besides the positive results it will achieve, which I am sure we will see soon, this project brings something very innovative regarding the role of the state in this sector. It was the same provincial government headed by Frigerio that decided to transform a building under construction, originally intended for public offices, into a high-end technology center, with the explicit indication that it would not house state offices. In addition, there are two characteristics that also distinguish it from other similar initiatives: it was done without allocating public funds from the governorate’s budget, and it is self-sufficient, meaning it is funded from its own resources. together Strong participation of the governorate’s technological and economic sector, Educational and scientific-technological entities. In short, an ecosystem finds space (physical and conceptual) that fosters its development, helps the regional economy and creates jobs.
The form of financing and management mechanism, using tokens generated by the blockchain, makes this center an interesting case study for the implementation of similar projects in other regions or countries.
In short, the state in its various forms understood this very dynamic sector, and in many cases had political administrations that knew how to rise to the level of economic development in the 21st century.
With this journey underway, today is the right time to extend these good practices to those departments that have not yet integrated the knowledge economy industry into their strategic management goals.
Even more so if we consider that the world has already entered the era of artificial intelligence, where the challenges are new and very dynamic. Indeed, the recent announcement of a huge investment in a massive data center in Patagonia adds new topics to the discussion and its potential regulatory framework. Hence an important question arises: the state, Will you continue to look at this industry with a 21st century mindset? I hope so. Because this sector has demonstrated, like no other, its ability to grow and generate employment and foreign exchange opportunities.
