By Narayan Ammachchi for Near shore Americas
The digital
economy in Latin America created 900,000 jobs and US$195 billion in revenue in
the space of eight years between 2005 and 2013, finds a study sponsored by the
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
The revenue
it generated is equivalent to 4.3% of cumulative GDP growth in the region,
the reported released in the Futurecom conference in Brazil stated.
This
significant growth in revenue and adoption has given rise to a call for
setting up a digital ecosystem that provides greater space for Latin Americans
to excel.
Although
more than half of Latin Americans are involved in the digital
economy in some way or the other, most of the applications they are using
are not created in the region. Of the 100 most-visited websites in the region,
only 26 are local. As a result, 63% of the traffic flow is international, going
mainly toward the US.
Therefore,
the study advocates the creation of a single Latin American digital market that
capitalizes on some of the region’s unique advantages. For example, most of the
countries in the region, except for Brazil, speak Spanish.
The digital
economy in the region is mainly inclusive of telecoms and internet-based
services. The report however admits that decline in the price of services and
equipments lured a lot of players into digital economy, resulting in a sharp
rise in number of Internet users.
The report
also calls for creating a productive model based on entrepreneurship and
innovation, capable of developing a local industry content, powerful
applications and services, creating more jobs and opportunities for the
society.
The ECLAC
has often argued that digital economy is a crucial force for boosting
structural change, making progress to reduce inequality and strengthening the
social inclusion.
The research
was headed by Argentine researcher Raúl Katz, professor at the Columbia
University, and funded, among others, by Telefonica. The survey also presents
recommendations based on workshops held in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,
Mexico and Peru.
According to
the Boston Consulting Group, Brazil alone will account for about 2.6% of
the global digital growth by 2016. It is believed that more than 85 million
people connected to the World Wide Web in Brazil.