IDB Inaugurates Laboratory for the Exploration and Adoption of Cutting-Edge Technologies

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) inaugurates a new laboratory in Paraguay for the exploration and adoption of emerging technologies. The TechLab seek to facilitate access to cutting-edge technologies and will help speed up testing and iteration of ideas.

Paraguay's TechLab will also provide access to a network of other TechLabs and partners, facilitating collaboration and learning from projects in other countries.

Paraguay's TechLab will be experimenting mainly with technologies such as generative artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, social robots, and drones, among others. These technologies are key to drive development and to help making public services more accessible while addressing economic, social and environmental challenges in a sustainable way.

"At the IDB, we firmly believe that technological innovation is essential for sustainable development. Paraguay's TechLab offers a space where teams and clients can explore with technology and generate transformative solutions that improve the lives of our people in the region," said the IDB President Ilan Goldfajn.

The decision to establish TechLab in Paraguay as a strategic hub for the entire Southern Cone responds to the country's commitment to digital transformation and innovation and its potential for sustainable development. Close collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (MITIC) has been key in the process of creating the new facility.

The lab operates from the Paraguay IDB Country Office space and will be accessible and visible to the general public. The initiative, whose design incorporates Paraguayan cultural elements, will have a full-time coordinator in charge of promoting research, generating use cases, organizing workshops and coordinating projects with the different countries.

Paraguay's TechLab is the IDB's third laboratory in the region. The first one was opened in 2017 at IDB's headquarters in Washington DC, and the second in 2022 in Panama as a strategic hub for Central America. In the coming months, a TechLab site will be opened in Colombia for the Andean region and another in Trinidad and Tobago for the Caribbean.