The technology domino effect: an opportunity

Luis Alvarez is guest blogging for the World Economic Forum. He is  President, EMEA & Latin America at BT and is will be attending the Forum on Latin America in Rio de Janeiro from 27-29 April. Follow him on twitter luis150861 

“I’ve never felt such a positive spirit”. This comment someone made to me today is the best summary of this year’s WEF in Rio.

Most company CEOs talk about their new investment plans: a new car factory, a new distribution centre, a new cement production site. Service players share their recruitment plans and the challenges to find and successfully manage talent. Governments see citizens more and more as customers, and not just voters. A new emerging media class will foster growth and make it sustainable.

But there are still a lot of challenges. Social divide is reducing, but not yet eliminated, and education and health continue to be key priorities for investment.

To me, infrastructure is the engine that can transform this opportunity into a reality. Regional investment has been around 2% of GDP, when it should be in the range of 5%. To fund this required investments, governments need to take additional actions, not only to find capital but to manage it better. For example, the single coordination of all infrastructure plans within each country is essential; we need clear rules for public-private projects, and strong governance to make markets more predictable and their economic, political and regulatory environments more reliable.

I personally think that one key area of investment is technology. Technology is the enabler both of the physical infrastructure (airports or hospitals need technology to work at their best) and of additional services which can transform society and the economy. If you set the right rules and apply them fairly, and if competition is enforced, the forecasted growth will drive private investment and technology players, such as BT, will also accelerate their rollout of infrastructures and services.

They will generate innovation, bringing new developments and training or attracting human capital. This is what I call the “technology domino effect”. So let’s ensure we take this into account when building and reviewing the infrastructure plans. The competition is now between countries which are best prepared to attract and manage investments.