IDB and Uruguay' s government organize Test & Invest business forum

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the government of Uruguay invite local investors and entrepreneurs to participate in the first edition of "Test & Invest - Uruguay Business Summit", to be held in person on November 3 and 4, 2022 in Punta del Este. The forum aims to promote the country as an attractive investment destination and position it as a center of innovation in Latin America.

The forum will include presentations by renowned international experts on cutting-edge topics in four strategic sectors: information and communication technology, biotechnology, renewable energies and audiovisual services.

Featured speakers include Jonathan Medved, CEO of OurCrowd from Israel; JongKap Kim, Executive Director of Born2Global from the Republic of Korea; Moishe Mana, Founder & CEO of Mana Common; Liz Keen, Business Director of Newlab; Marco Muñoz, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Juan Miguel Lavista, chief science officer of Microsoft Corporation's Microsoft AI for Good Research Lab; David Flynn, director of Enterprise Networks at Skillnet Ireland; Satyajit Bose, author and head of the Department of Sustainable Finance at Columbia University; Michael Young, president & CEO of New York Film Academy; and Karen Bruck, vice president of Strategic Initiatives for Free Market Commerce.

The event will also include B2B (business-to-business) and B2G (business-to-government) matchmaking meetings between local and foreign investors, international technology-based startups and top-level companies from Uruguay, Latin America and the Caribbean, the United States, Ireland, Singapore, Israel and Korea, among others.

The event will also feature an innovation showcase where new technologies developed in the country will be exhibited thanks to its pool of talent and free training (masterclasses) on topics of internationalization, entrepreneurship and technology, taught by international institutions such as Newlab, Digital House and the New York Film Academy.

Uruguay is attractive for its social and economic stability, tax benefits, tariff preferences with Mercosur and Mexico, a dynamic innovation ecosystem, modern technological infrastructure, skilled and multilingual human resources, and high quality of life.

In recent years, leading multinational companies have invested and established their regional operations centers in Uruguay. In 2021 alone, Uruguay received US$1.403 billion in foreign direct investment according to Uruguay XXI data.

In addition, Uruguay significantly expanded global services exports over the past two decades, reaching 44% of total services exports in 2019. The largest share corresponds to global business services and information and communication technology services.

The event, which will be held at the Punta del Este Convention Center, is organized by the IDB in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining, the investment, export and country image promotion institute Uruguay XXI and the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII).

For more information and registration visit the event's website: www.testandinvest.uy.