The National Chamber of the Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology Industry (CANIETI) announced the re-election of Mario de la Cruz Sarabia as its National President during an event in Mexico City this week, where the chamber’s strategy for the near future was revealed.

The newly re-elected National President stressed the importance of a decree to encourage the high-tech manufacturing sector, to update the public policy of the IT sector, and to consolidate the transformation of the telecommunications sector derived from structural the reforms of 2013.

“It is necessary that as a house we continue to advance in priority areas for the sector, such as infrastructure development, criteria and times for radio spectrum allocation, revision of technical provisions, increased information security, and the arrival of virtual operators for mobile networks,” he said.

De la Cruz also highlighted the challenge of accelerating specializations in the information technology sector. “With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, as well as the internet of things, and above all the development of the digital economy, information technology will be a strategic sector.”

In addition, the growth of CANIETI stood out, with the chamber closing with a total of 1,377 members, which means an increase of 16.2% over the same period of last year. With this growth, the commitment to maintain quality in the services granted by CANIETI was strengthened.

The 2017-2018 Plan

During the event, the newly re-elected National President highlighted the main points of his work plan for the period of 2017-2018:

  • Continue to promote the development of an industrial policy for advanced manufacturing, focused on establishing national content rules, supplier development and integration, and incentives in line with the trade structure resulting from the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
  • Consolidate the update of public policy for the information technology sector.
  • Facilitate the use of existing infrastructure for the deployment of networks, and generate the conditions to stimulate the installation of more infrastructure by operators.
  • Have a complete map of the sector’s talent requirements, skills, competencies, and personnel.
  • Promote more alliances to attract innovative projects to the Chamber and a greater rapprochement with entrepreneurs.
  • Promote a National Cybersecurity Strategy.
  • Consolidate the Code X initiative as a tool to achieve greater inclusion of women in ICT.
  • Increase the rate of affiliation growth.
  • Diversify the affiliation of affiliates with funds and sources of financing at the national and international level.

Another point that he emphasized was the importance of promoting the production chain. In this respect, he highlighted the signing of a collaboration agreement with the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN) to promote the use of the Industry Suppliers Chain in Mexico (CAPIM) as a tool to bring synergy to all sectors. This tool, at the end of 2016, had registered more than 10,000 suppliers and achieved a business link for more than US$4.9 billion.

Collaborative Engagement Achievements

Likewise, de la Cruz pointed out the importance of the work carried out in the field of capital and funds management. By managing a total of MX$456 million in 2016 from various funds such as PROSOFT and FINNOVA, as well as programs from institutions such as the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) and the National Institute of Entrepreneurs (INADEM), CANIETI has helped to support technological modernization projects that have benefited 1,776 companies and resulted in the creation of 2,074 jobs.

There was also a mention of the efforts made by CANIETI to promote a National Strategy for Cybersecurity, touching upon a national study on the subject, which will include analysis and recommendations on the digital ecosystem of the public and private sectors.

It was reported that, with the support of the National Digital Strategy Coordination, of industry, civil society, academia and government, the birth of the Code X initiative was promoted, to highlight the inclusion of a greater number of girls and women in the Area of ​​ICT.