Business Leaders Talk About Latin America's Growing Economy and Technology

Business leaders from some of the world's biggest companies met in Brazil on Friday to talk about Latin America's economic and technological growth. The event was called TIME's Impact Dinner: Leading LATAM's Next Chapter of Growth. Three top executives sat on a panel to share their ideas about what is helping the region grow and what it still needs. The dinner was held in Brazil and was sponsored by PepsiCo.

The panel included Paula Bellizia, a vice president at Amazon Web Services in Latin America. Also speaking were Henrique Dias, the co-founder and CEO of NoHarm.ai, an artificial intelligence company focused on healthcare. The third panelist was Athina Kanioura, the CEO of Latin America for PepsiCo. Each leader brought a different point of view about the region's future.

Kanioura said that Latin America is a great place for businesses to grow right now. She described it as having a lot of 'white space,' meaning there is plenty of room for companies to invest and try new things. PepsiCo, she said, has been growing faster in Latin America than anywhere else in the world. That kind of growth shows just how much opportunity exists in the region.

Dias pointed out that Brazil has a large number of talented workers, especially in fields like engineering, computer science, and artificial intelligence. He said that the country has smart and skilled people but needs more money to fully use that talent. His own company works as a non-profit in Brazil, providing free AI services to the public health system. He believes that with enough funding, Brazil could build its own version of Silicon Valley.

Bellizia shared some impressive numbers to show how quickly technology is spreading in Brazil. She said that about 12 million companies — roughly half of all businesses in the country — reported using AI in their daily work. On top of that, the use of AI is growing at a rate of 30% every year. She said that technology is bringing more wealth and opening up new chances for people across the region.

When asked what Latin America needs to keep growing, Bellizia said the biggest missing piece is infrastructure. She said the region does not lack talent, drive, or resilience, but it does need data centers, and those require water and strong infrastructure to run. Without these building blocks, it is hard to support the technology that the region needs.

Dias added that Latin America should invest more in building its own technology instead of relying on products from large companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. He said that depending too much on outside technology makes the region less independent. By developing national technology, countries in Latin America could become stronger and more self-reliant. His message was clear — the talent is there, and now the region needs the resources and tools to match it.