Latin American development bank CAF has approved a US$350mn loan for digital transformation in Panama.

The country is implementing a program to eliminate the digital divide and transform the public and private sectors, CAF said in a statement, adding that the loan was approved by the board on Tuesday.

Measures to be financed include the implementation of norms, plans and investment agreements for five key pillars.

The first centers on the digital economy, the second on the digital transformation of the state, the third on industries, the fourth on digital transformation for productivity, and the fifth on connectivity infrastructure.

Overall, the program will help meet the goals that Panama’s innovation authority AIG included in its 2020 digital agenda at the end of 2019.

One goal is to meet 84 objectives covering rural connectivity, offering 400 public services online, presenting a fintech bill, passing a cybercrime law, creating a digital wallet for citizens and even drafting a 5G plan, among others.

Most objectives were supposed to be met last year but AIG has not provided any broad updates. Progress on specific topics was reported throughout 2020, however. Most recently, the authority said that it uploaded 2,000 documents on its newly launched transparency website datosabiertos.gob.pa.

The government has vowed to turn the country into a digital infrastructure hub to foster Latin America’s technological development, an objective backed by CAF.
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