INTEGRA FIVE - LATAM DISPATCH
The president of Brazil’s Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, said that the challenge in formulating a digital currency is to ensure that the credit capacity of banks is not impaired. To make monetization possible by banks with a new format, institutions will be able to issue stablecoins which are digital currencies linked to tangible assets.
The Central Bank will issue the digital real with provision for use in retail payments, and is expected to be launched by the end of 2022, however it may be postponed due to the strike of the municipality’s servers. Neto has been paying close attention to cryptocurrency in Brazil for the last two years, and he sees it as an instrument for a means of payment growing below inflation, but that its use an investment tool is growing.
Latin America is suffering a wave of startup layoffs, but within this hardship employers are taking advantage of the situation to hire highly skilled digital talent. Platzi’s founder, Freddy Vega highlighted the importance of companies adapting to change as it is not the strongest who will survive, but those who move quickest and are willing to make the necessary changes. Vega said that workers in the technology industry in Latin America will not be laid off for long given the deficit of professionals throughout the sector in the region.
Truora founder, Daniel Bilbao has launched Pivot, a platform for laid-off Latin American professionals to connect with companies interested in hiring them. The platform’s registration creates exposure or allows the reporting of their layoff, whilst companies can use the platform to hunt for talent. Profiles include professionals in customer services, design, sales, engineering, data analytics, business development, operations, purchasing and finance.
Integra Groupe’s managing partner, Alfredo Vargas was invited to attend the Summit of the Americas this week. The summit is held by the US Department of the State, and it is a gathering between government, civil society, private sector, and international organisations. Integra is aligned with the Summit’s values and are excited to help build s sustainable, resilient, and equitable future
The Summit takes place in Los Angeles which has the largest Hispanic/Latino population in the US. One factor discussed by Biden was his wish to press the administration’s competitive goals against China with the launch of a new partnership with Latin America, as well as a revitalization of the Inter-American Development Bank and the creation of clean energy jobs.
By presenting Latin American countries with an alternative to China by increasing the economic engagement, there will be more investment and strengthening of existing trade deals. However, his “Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity,” which still appears to be a work in progress, stops short of offering tariff relief and, according to a senior administration official, will initially focus on “like-minded partners” that already have U.S. trade accords.
June 10, 2022
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