The Future in LATIN AMERICA
The Future in LATIN AMERICA
THE FUTURE IN LATIN AMERICA
Predicting the future is something humanity has always tried to do, and today this is a highly populated field of expertise. Be Radical’s futurologist Jeffrey Rogers states in his lectures, “...the future is unwritten, and yet the pieces out of which this future will be created are already here all around us, if only we can look for them.” He recommends we pay close attention to signals and repetitive trends so that we can make accurate assumptions about what’s ahead.
Taking his advice, let’s review some of the latest trends and transformations in Latin America to help you make accurate assumptions about your own future in LATAM.
THE PANDEMIC IN LATAM
We cannot talk about recent history anywhere in the world without discussing the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus is still active, and collectively, we are working to understand its short and long-term impacts. For Latin American countries, these impacts have been brutal: 42 million patients were diagnosed with Covid-19, and 1,5million lives have been taken. According to Statista.com, these numbers reflect the region’s monetary inequality and low access to healthcare.
While the statistics are daunting, many Latin American governments reacted quickly when vaccines became available, and the vaccination rate in the region was one of the highest in the world. According to Washington Post records, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru have vaccinated more than 69% of their total population, making the zone one of the most prepared for any future waves and lessening the threat of additional border closures and lockdowns.
DOING BUSINESS IN LATIN AMERICA
The International Monetary Fund’s expected GDP Growth in Latin America in 2021 was 6,3%, aligned with the U.S. and Europe. Considering the high impact of the pandemic in this largely developing region, many specialists see this level of growth as good.
Most importantly, the pandemic exponentially accelerated digitalization. According to an Ebanx Beyond Borders 2021-2022 report, “...retail and digital products and services are booming, with LATAM countries registering up to 80% expansion in these verticals as consumers start to massively adopt online shopping, streaming and gaming, and many others.” E-commerce and online payments (both B2B and B2C) are still expected to grow 30% per year every year until 2025 in the region.
Moreover, while the region was already attractive for outsourcing services due to its proximity to North American time zones and the availability of multilingual educated professionals, efforts made by the government of Brazil to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the economy helped further. In particular, Brazil passed new labor regulations to incentivize outsourced and remote work, making it even more enticing for companies to conduct business in LATAM.
As a result, we now see a boom in tech startups in the region, many of which are gaining sales momentum and international relevance. According to Reuters, in the first nine months of 2021, Latin American startups raised funds of $14,9billion, up 174% over the previous year.
In the same vein, Craig Dempsey, Founder of the Biz Latin Hub Group, cites in his article for Forbes, a June 2020 survey, in which respondents were asked about their perception of the region’s future. Fifty-seven percent expressed their interest in expanding towards LATAM countries. “Continued economic growth, competitive labor costs and proximity to key American markets appear to be factors driving overall positivity toward Latin America as a viable business destination.”