Collision 2024: “In Toronto, we are already known as a country that provides software services”

Uruguay made a strong showing at Collision 2024, the technology event held in Toronto, Canada. Over 40,000 attendees from 140 countries attended the event, led by Uruguay XXI, and comprised 16 technology companies. The participation of the Uruguayan delegation, led by Uruguay XXI and comprised of 16 technology companies, demonstrated the country’s growing importance in technological innovation.

The presence at Collision aligns with Uruguay XXI’s strategy to promote the country as a regional business and innovation center. At this event, Uruguay showcased its advantages as a provider of technological services for markets in the region and the world. The official delegation also included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the support of the Canadian Embassy in Uruguay, the Uruguay Innovation Hub, and the Uruguayan Chamber of Information Technology (CUTI).

A global showcase for Uruguay

“It was a great opportunity to showcase the characteristics that Uruguay has for the technology industry in particular,” commented Uruguay XXI’s deputy director, Eduardo Rodríguez, about this new participation of the country in the great North American fair.

Rodríguez highlighted the usefulness of the event in linking with the Canadian ecosystem and other international markets, which helps companies to promote exports and attract new clients. “The evaluation of this participation is excellent,” he concluded.

Uruguay showcased this year the achievements obtained after more than a decade of sustained boost to technological activity. This continuous effort has made the country a world-class business center with notable advances. Among other advantages, Uruguay has exceptional connectivity and Internet penetration, being the most prominent software exporter per capita in Latin America and the fourth largest in absolute terms.

Uruguay is home to more than 500 technology companies that provide global solutions and integrate a robust technology ecosystem, providing investment opportunities for developing new businesses based on advanced technologies. This makes Uruguay an ideal place to innovate and test new technologies.

This year, Brocsoft, Brokerware, Pyxis, DaMap, FusionIT, GoGrow, Hacknoid, Kadabra, Kreitech, KSI Visión, Lightit, Press Start, Qubika, Step-up, Sunshift, and Xenio participated in Collision and showed Uruguay’s talent and innovation capacity in an international scenario.

Experiences and positive results

Entrepreneur Álvaro López of Brocsoft highlighted the value of the event for companies seeking to enter the North American market. “I also participated last year, and it helped me gain experience. This year, I am much more prepared, and I managed to have 60 meetings before the event and then many meetings here. I could say that I raised about 15 valuable contacts per day,” he said.

Nicolás Erlichman of GoGrow highlighted the Uruguay booth’s visibility to the companies. “Coming to the event was amazing; I think the best thing is having a booth for Uruguay as a country. Something exciting that we talked about with the different companies here is that people come to ask about Uruguay; they already know us as a country that provides software services,” he said.

The entrepreneur added that accessing a market the size of Toronto is “super interesting,” even more so when it is a market about which they did not know so much. “You have to take advantage of these opportunities. Going alone to an event is not the same; having Uruguay’s booth that showcases you as a country, I think, gives a lot more facilities to sell to companies,” he said.

Federico Kauffman of Streaver highlighted the opportunity to present new products globally. “We have a spin-off, a product that we are making and that we started internally, and we thought it was good to present it to the world. We decided to come to Collision to see if there was interest from the public and potential investors. We talked to many people interested in the product and potential investors, learned a little, and took away some ideas.”

DaMap’s Martín Fitipaldo’s first participation in Canada was also a revelation. “It’s a tremendous opportunity; sometimes you don’t realize the number of stands, the number of ideas, and the number of people who are interested in collaborating, which is incredible for me. I had never seen anything on such a huge scale, and Uruguay is a part of this. It makes me believe the world is a little smaller than I thought,” he revealed.