Talking about the development of apps in Latin America, it is essential to make a comparison with other entrepreneurship ecosystems more developed and mature than ours It is also necessary to analyze their evolution in recent years to know the trends and where we are going.
If we look at the Silicon Valley ecosystem, for example, more than five years ago, having a venture based on mobile technology was innovative. It was very common to find apps that solved transportation problems, search for information (directory or “listings” type apps), messaging, photo sharing. In fact, there was a boom of app-based startups; if we look at Forbes’, Hottest 2015 Startups list,we can see that more than 80% of the startups listed were mobile technology-based startups. However, having such an app nowadays is no longer enough. We are starting to see how apps are incorporating Industry 4.0 technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things), artificial intelligence, blockchain, interaction with the human body, among others.
Panorama of Apps in Panama
The panorama in Panama is a bit different. Not more than a couple of years ago we are just starting to live the boom of app startups. If we take a closer look at our ecosystem we will see that there are many young apps being born, seeking to solve local problems using technology. This is partly due to the fact that in our markets there are still many needs and opportunities to apply technology. The characteristics of these apps are mostly of the “uber” type, collaborative economy apps,where consumers and providers connect without intermediaries, whether for transportation services, rentals or professionals in different areas.
The ability to finance is one of the main challenges for app developers, partly because the cost of an app is high, on the other hand, marketing must be taken into account. Once the app is developed; if we do not have users or mechanisms to get it to the end user; the cost of marketing can cost the same or more than the development of the app. For example, in thedelivery segment in Panama, in recent years we have seen the emergence of more than four apps that provide delivery services, ranging from food deliveries to any type of messaging: Apetito24, EntreGo, ASAP, etc; so local companies have been forced to compete with large international players such as UberEats and Glovo.
Increased use of Apps
The truth is that, in our country, the use of mobile applications is increasing and even in Central America we have the highest level of smartphone penetration, which makes it clear that there is a market of opportunities in terms of apps. On the one hand, at a governmental level, the Panamá Apps portal is a compendium of apps at an institutional level that offers various public services. On the other hand, we see app trends not only in the business sector, but also in other segments: (1) Companies that develop apps as a new sales channel or as a marketing and branding element: television networks, radio stations, newspapers, supermarkets, etc. (2) Companies developing apps for internal use as a productivity tool: quoting and reporting companies.
Note: : The following article is based on personal experiences within the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Panama as an entrepreneur with a product based on mobile technology, as a provider of app development services for other entrepreneurs/companies; and from the experiences of having studied and worked for a year in Silicon Valley.
