IAPT Community in Panama advances in the consolidation of cluster initiatives

Two launches of cluster initiatives in Panama took place this month, within the framework of the promotion of the associative work carried out by the City of Knowledge Foundation with the support of the Cluster Initiatives Platform and other Territorial Productive Articulation Initiatives (IAPT) of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

On Monday, August 19, with the attendance of more than 60 actors from the cucurbit (watermelon and melon) agricultural production and export ecosystem, a planning meeting was held at the National Institute of Agriculture (INA) to define the cluster’s roadmap. During the day, a workshop was held with the coordination, support and facilitation of the Competitiveness Center of the Central Region (CECOMCE) and the Competitiveness Center of the Western Region (CECOMRO).

The Cucurbitaceae Cluster of Panama is a national platform that brings together various actors in the watermelon and melon value chain, such as producers, companies, academia and government. Through collaboration between these actors, the cluster seeks to identify and address the challenges that limit the productivity and competitiveness of the sector, promoting a common strategic agenda to strengthen cucurbit exports.

Likewise, on Wednesday, August 21, the launch of the Panama Health Research and Innovation Cluster was held. More than 70 actors from the scientific knowledge generating ecosystem in Panama participated in the activity, including: Clinics, Hospitals (public and private), pharmaceutical companies, research centers (CROs), unions and associations, representatives of academia and the government, among other actors from civil society.

These clusters are part of the Panama Productive III Project, a continuation of Panama Productive I and II (2019-2022), a program that aims to contribute to the productive and sustainable development of the country by strengthening three strategic areas: health, fruits for export, and logistics. They have the non-reimbursable technical cooperation of CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean and the institutional support of the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT), as well as the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MICI) and the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA), in addition to multiple companies in the productive sectors that make up the value chain of the cluster initiatives promoted.

For ECLAC, it is very important that this work, by promoters of cluster initiatives, is carried out in harmony with the efforts made through the IAPT Platform to promote productive development with a territorial focus, as well as to make visible the initiatives in the region and the richness of its variety.