The founder of the US-based company Algorithmia, Diego Oppenheimmer, told Efe that the evolution of this sector in the region and Uruguay in particular has been "super high", during the development of the ten-year Punta Tech Meetup, which brings together specialists in this area from all over Latin America.
"I am delighted to see the growth, it makes me very proud for the country (Uruguay) and for what is being done here in the technology sector. What I see more and more are very good companies here in Uruguay exporting software, a very high level," he said.
He added that in the United States "more and more people are hearing" about Uruguayan companies that export software, which is why he valued the importance of international recognition in terms of the quality of the South American country's engineering.
"There is a lot of opportunity in the region, the education here is good and the engineers coming out are very good, so what we are seeing is that there is an opportunity to export talent and products," he said.
Oppenheimer added that "more investment" is now being seen in the sector by governments and private enterprise, as, in his opinion, "more risks are being taken" in terms of financing new companies in the sector.
Sergio Fogel, co-founder of the company D.Local, with offices in the UK and Uruguay, told Efe that the industry is growing and that, in his opinion, everyone is a competitor, collaborator and supplier.
"ICT technologies have developed enormously in the region (...) A few years ago we were seeing $2 million and $3 million company acquisitions and now we are hearing of transactions in the tens of millions and hundreds of millions of dollars," he said.
He also indicated that Uruguay is "one of the most important poles" in the region due to factors such as promotion laws and the support of different governmental bodies.
"This growth is the beginning, more and more technology is becoming part of the industry, something that used to be seen as a curiosity or a niche industry, is now becoming more and more integral," he said.
Meanwhile, the director for Latin America of the US company established in Uruguay, Dogtown Media, Matías Gelos, told Efe that the factors that most influenced the company's decision to set up in Uruguay were legal security and low levels of insecurity, among others.
He also pointed out that one of the areas in which the Latin American region must make progress is in the education and training of more engineers in the area of technology, since, as he said, "there are real possibilities for professional development" in this sector.
The Punta Tech Meetup 2018 featured speakers such as Aharon Aharon, CEO of the Israel Innovation Institute, Diego Oppenheimer, founder of US-based Algorithmia, and Zachary Aron, head of Financial and Technology Services at Deloitte.
Source: EFE
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