Victor Cartes

"90% of the Paraguayan economy is comprised by companies with 50 employees or less, most of them microcompanies. Due specifically to their reduced size, this segment faces important obstacles when implementing digital management tools, an issue that affects their viability and competitiveness.

To help these small companies, Victor Cartes, the founder of TIVA, has developed BIMS: a cloud-based, enterprise resource planning (ERP) system with a simple, user-friendly interface that allows anyone to use the system, something which is especially critical for this type of company. His product has led to Cartes´ recognition as one of MIT Technology Review, Spanish Edition´s Innovators Under 35 Paraguay and Bolivia 2016.

BIMS has several characteristics that differentiate it from other EPR software applications. According to this young Paraguayan, the existing alternatives ""are all difficult to use."" BIMS offers a smart assistant, called Intuitiva (""the intuitive one""), which is capable of processing natural language and learning the users´ word usages and manners of speaking, to allow customers to communicate with the software as they would with a person.

Another one of BIMS´ features is that the software is housed in the cloud, which allows the user to access the tool from any connected device, whether a desktop computer, a tablet or a mobile phone. And although it operates in the cloud, it does not require a permanent internet connection, something that is especially crucial for the Paraguayan market. BIMS synchronizes periodically, according to connectivity availability. But when not available, it continues to be capable of executing critical functions, like sales management.

""The primary handicap that limits usability does not reside in the people but rather in the tools that prevent their use,"" says Cartes. According to this Paraguayan innovator, ""technology should be easy to use and inclusive, not the opposite."" Thanks to BIMS, ""anyone who has a business can access management tools that improve their processes and performance,"" he concludes. ""We hope to promote the inclusion of people with visual or motor impairments thanks to the smart assistant's new ability to talk with the users.""

In the words of the general director and founder of Conectando Empresas and jury member for the Innovators Under 35 Paraguay and Bolivia 2016 awards, Félix López Capel, ""BIMS is a very solid project, a powerful technological solution for companies."" Capel also highlights Cartes´ ample experience in the telecommunications sector and as an entrepreneur operating TIVA."