The Chamber of Digital Economy of Uruguay (CEDU) held elections on February 23rd, and this March 1st presented the authorities that will be in charge of the union for the new period. Guillermo Varela will continue his work as president, accompanied by Natalia Macri as vice-president and Leonardo Álvarez in the General Secretariat.
The new work team considers that 2021 will be a relevant year to give continuity to the notorious growth of e-Commerce in the country and to the work being done by CEDU to consolidate the digital economy.
Varela described 2020 as a "historic year", as an unforeseen event such as the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) accelerated the sector's growth processes, fostering an economy based on the digital ecosystem.
"The digital economy gave up its adolescent growth to dress like the adult in charge. It has been CEDU's partner companies that sustained the country's economy during the crisis by allowing commerce and services to operate despite the confinement of the population and voluntary quarantine," he said.
The president stressed that CEDU knew how to be up to the task of facing all the sudden challenges that the new normality implied, providing support to the most affected sectors and offering tools to cope with the increase in demand that occurred in most of the items.
"We have achieved all the goals we had for this past fiscal year, and we will continue on this path, supporting those who work to make Uruguay a regional benchmark and a better country. We have grown in all indicators. CEDU is ready to contribute and work to strengthen our sector and fundamentally in the evolution of our society," he said.
The objective of this new board is to continue working on the main pillars built by the chamber since the previous year, such as the development of the digital commerce ecosystem in Uruguay, generate reliable and timely information through market research and reports, and be representatives before the government to address issues that make the digital ecosystem.
"We want to participate in the exchange of ideas, to be part of that process," said Álvarez on the last point. He added that Uruguay has excellent conditions for the development of digital commerce, due to its good connectivity, access to the Internet for the population, training, etc.
For his part, Macri said that, although there is a remarkable growth of e-Commerce in Uruguay, there are different realities among companies. While there are some that have the tools and the ability to meet the demands of the market, others are taking their first steps. Therefore, from CEDU the need to give support to partners according to the stage they are going through, based on the experience and knowledge that the chamber has.
To continue with the constant growth, one of the main challenges will be to cover all the areas that are part of the digital commerce ecosystem (retail, services, logistics, means of payment, fintech, ICT, etc.), in order to work together and achieve better results.
"There is no exact formula for the consolidation of digital commerce, but it does require an artillery of elements such as working together, better regulation and investment, both in physical tools and in knowledge," Macri said.
In addition, CEDU will continue to provide training and webinars that are very useful for its partners, as well as studies and reports with market data and will continue working so that CIBERLUNES becomes more and more consolidated within the commercial calendar of Uruguay.
Connect