paths or optimize evacuation logistics, and tourism agencies test analytics that track visitor flows in real time to allocate scarce resources. Latin America is also home to several start-up unicorns which leverage AI to drive value. In Latin America, the number of AI companies has surged in recent years, rising by 550% between 2018 and 2024,38 with use cases continuing to emerge. Latin America’s largest e-commerce and fintech platform leverages AI-driven credit models, enabling instant loan approvals, seamlessly integrating user data from its e-commerce marketplace and fintech app. One large digital bank from the region has disrupted traditional banking models by offering fee-free, mobile- first financial services, powered by AI-enabled credit scoring, fraud detection and personalization at scale. Cultivate ecosystems of entrepreneurship Start-up unicorns and tech ecosystems have been key to turning AI capabilities into market-ready solutions. Tech ecosystems are becoming more developed in Latin America, with a particular focus on fintech, where the ecosystem grew 340% between 2017 and 2023, led by Brazil and Mexico and followed by Colombia, Argentina and Chile. Ecosystems in Peru, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Costa Rica and Guatemala are also maturing, albeit at a slower pace of 44% annual growth during the same timeframe.39 Early unicorns in Latin America have had a profound impact on growing the start-up ecosystem and entrepreneurialism in the region. The success of start-ups has opened the door for venture capital funding. Demand for their services has impacted the job market and talent pipeline, and numerous alumni have gone on to start their own businesses, with over 130 venture-backed start-ups emerging from these companies.40 In smaller markets, regional alliances and diaspora networks play an important role in this endeavour. The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, an intergovernmental body representing twelve island countries, runs multi-island hackathons and training events while connecting entrepreneurs to mentors and investors in larger markets. These initiatives are significant because they create opportunities for knowledge transfer and access to capital in places where domestic ecosystems are yet to flourish. While ecosystems vary in maturity, progress is evident across the region. Where funding, mentorship and regulation align, entrepreneurs are building a virtuous cycle of innovation, talent retention and investment that benefit the business community and society at large. As these ecosystems deepen, start-ups are increasingly able to create AI solutions tailored to local challenges, such as financial inclusion, sustainable farming and climate resilience, expanding the region’s contribution to the global AI economy. Keeping people at the centre of intelligent economies requires investment in talent development and building public trust in the technologies. As mentioned above, beyond foundational challenges in connectivity and financing, within organizations, talent is a dimension that presents key barriers to development, with organizations struggling to build role-based skills, attract specialists and drive change at speed. Awareness and training programmes are becoming more common, but highly skilled talent is difficult to retain, and a mismatch persists between education curricula and industry needs. Scaling dual education models with internships and apprenticeships could help close this gap and align skills with real-world requirements. It is anticipated that the core skills needed to succeed in the AI-driven future of work include knowledge of AI, big data, networks and cybersecurity, as well as several non-technical skills including resilience, flexibility and agility.41 Rapidly evolving skill-needs create a challenge for education systems to update curricula and meet demand. For those seeking continuing education, the landscape is more fragmented, with a variety of credentials offered by public and private universities, as well as some hyperscalers, covering various AI-related skills. This can make it difficult for citizens to know where to start their AI learning journeys and can create challenges for hiring organizations trying to evaluate how these programmes compare. Elevate human potential In Latin America, our survey found that the region scored the lowest in talent across the six dimensions critical for AI transformation. Employers perceive skills gaps in the labour market to be a major barrier to organizational transformation, exacerbated by emigration – which has quadrupled from Latin America over the past three decades42 – and by competition from multinational companies that are opening technology delivery centres in the region. Our survey results highlight the areas where the region is currently falling short: the lack of a clear vision for talent needs, challenges related to the recruiting process and the lack of clear career 2.3 Putting people at the heart of intelligent economies Latin America in the Intelligent Age: A New Path for Growth 20

Latin America Intelligent Age