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The City of Knowledge might be one of Panama’s most innovative and entrepreneurial places. It is located right next to the canal’s Miraflores locks. With a size of 120 hectares it provides firms, entrepreneurs, international organizations, and academic institutions the facilities they need to transfer their knowledge. With a 15 minute Uber drive from Obarrio, a coworker and I went to the City of Knowledge to find out why it is such an important and innovative place.
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Convention Centre
Our first visit was at the convention centre. Panama City might sometimes look like it’s underperforming when it comes to technological development. However, at the City of Knowledge’s convention centre, this was not the case. The convention centre is equipped with a range of equipment that enhance the meetings, such as good wi-fi, modern video-conference equipment, LCD screens and more.
For the tech savvy entrepreneurs in Panama this all becomes very interesting since many public events are given in the well facilitated convention centre. You might want to see our article about the tech- and entrepreneurship events that also include events given at the convention centre, such as CyberTech Panama.
Innovation Centre
After our visit at the convention centre, we walked to the innovation centre. After walking through a beautiful park, we arrived. It was not very busy as we entered the building. After walking around the building and seeing different office studios, we found the co-working spot on the first floor. The wifi worked well and it was a nice and silent space. The ability to be creative in the co-working spot was clearly shown. In the image below you can see the tables people work on in the co-working space. These tables itself are already a creative solution, but also its functionalities are creative and especially original. The glass on top of the wooden pallets can be used for writing with markers. In the wooden pallets, there are markers you could use to conceptualize entrepreneurial ideas.
You can online book your spot in co-working area. You will be charged 10 dollar per day, 45 dollar per week and 125 dollar per year.
The great thing about this centre, is that they stimulate sustainable, innovative and female entrepreneurs. They help the entrepreneurs overcoming barriers, by mentoring them in order to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Panama. There are many small studios for solopreneurs or small teams. It ranged from environmental innovations, to gaming startups.
La Plaza de Ciudad del Saber
The plaza provides a meeting point for people to share their knowledge and grab a bite. The concept of the plaza includes environmental friendly water usage, flexible and exterior spaces where people can easily meetup and it facilitates many stores. These stores range from restaurants to book stores. With all the creativeness and knowledge that is being developed in the City of Knowledge, this plaza is an amazing place where this comes all together. If you are looking to develop a network in Panama as a starting entrepreneur, this plaza might be your solution.
Sports Complex
Sports is something that is stimulated within the City of Knowledge. The Kiwanis Sports City is facilitating this. With a size of 22.5 hectares, there are many public sports fields where you can empty your mind. There is a public gym, tennis field, soccer field, swimming pool and racquetball field. These fields are also used by universities and companies.
There are also events and competitions organized in the City of Knowledge. It could be a good opportunity for entrepreneurs to network during these events. Besides, you can also do some team-bonding with these events, or more regularly with competitions. You could also just decide to move away from your laptop and keep your mind healthy by exercising
When we were at the City of Knowledge, especially in the morning, it was not very busy. However, this was during the holidays. There are many universities that were not fully operating, since the students were off.
The City of Knowledge is great for the tech savvy entrepreneurs. Compared to Panama City itself, it provides way more technological facilities, innovative atmospheres and for networking purposes there are many opportunities.
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