Panama Borrows $60 Million from IDB for E-Government Push

Panama borrowed US$60 million from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to digitalize government services, a move expected to facilitate business operations in the Central American country.

As part of the program, Panama will build a digital observatory, a lab and a national cybersecurity center.

“The goal is to speed up the official machinery and address key aspects such as cybersecurity and application management,” stated government officials in a press release.

The digital lab will focus on identifying technology solutions to modernize the public sector.

The cybersecurity center will run training programs for all public sector employees, teaching them how to prevent cyberattacks and protect data from online thieves.

Some analysts say digitalizing government services will reduce corruption and ease business operations in the country. Panama is ranked second in Latin America and 86th worldwide in terms of ease of doing business, according to the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.

“This allows us to increase transparency, reduce discretion, make the government more efficient, and, above all, improve the quality of life of citizens,” stated Luis Oliva, General Administrator of the Government Innovation Authority (AIG), an agency in charge of designing, implementing and managing the digital agenda.