On April 19-26, the AFS LATAM office organised a series of panels and discussions to create a collaborative environment for the policies our startup ecosystem needs to thrive. 

Digital Economy, Cybersecurity, and the Startup Ecosystem

On April 19 The AFS LATAM office hosted a roundtable for our LATAM member Associations on the Digital Economy, Cybersecurity, and the Startup Ecosystem. The roundtable contributed to starting building a collaborative policy agenda between AFS and key members of the Legislative such as Senator Moya, Chair of the Economic Commission in the Senate, Javier López Casarín, Chair of the Science, Innovation, and Technology Commission in the House of Representatives, and Sergio Barrera, Secretary of the Defense Commission in the House of Representatives. 

During the roundtable, Senator Moya opened the conversation to work jointly on an initiative to foster the startup and innovation ecosystem in Mexico. Our LATAM Office is now building a working document to present to the Senator to move the ecosystem forward. 

Annual Meeting of the Council for Women Entrepreneurs

On  April 20 and 21 AFS chaired a panel in Ciudad Obregón on innovation, technology and tech talent. This panel was held during the Annual Meeting of the Council for Women Entrepreneurs, where AFS proudly holds a Chair of the Board.  AFS is joining efforts to move policy forward to provide access for women in STEM and entrepreneurial programs. 

Challenges and Opportunities of Digital Development in the States

The AFS LATAM office was invited to participate in the forum Retos y Oportunidades del Desarrollo Digital de los Estados (Challenges and Opportunities of Digital Development in the States in English) in the Mexican Congress where Alejandra Plaschinski, Director for Latam, stressed that the solution Mexico needs to become a more inclusive and developed country resides on innovative collaborative policies between government, academia and the startup ecosystem. While creating specific policies and legislations that foster innovation and the startup ecosystem is a relevant start, we must make sure that we are not passing legislation on other fronts that set us back. Policy makers need to take a coherent and complex approach to push innovation forward on all fronts. Together with policy makers and Academia Startups are ready to take Mexico to its next step.