Job Opening: Nearshore Americas News Editor
March 8th, 2012
Nearshore Americas is looking for a full time, Latin America-based news editor to join our superb team of professionals!
Our coverage is targeted on the business services and outsourcing industries of Latin America, with a heavy dose of analysis on IT services – especially delivered out of Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina and Chile. From interviews with Presidents, to analyses of labor supply, geopolitical risks and worldwide BPO offshoring trends, we publish work that is well-researched, multi-sourced and grounded in business-oriented language. Our brand has grown quickly during the last three years.
Qualifications:
- Professional editorial/ reporting background, preferably with a tech/IT or b-to-b brand.
-Strong interest in Latin America business and political issues. (Spanish speaking preferred.)
-Based in US or Latin America. (Prefer Latin America)
Candidates must supply three English-based writing samples from an online news website. (We will not respond to candidates who fail …
Clinton’s LatAm Mission: Do Good, Boost Trade, Fix Mistake
February 28th, 2012
By James Bargent
Since leaving office in 2001, Bill Clinton has found a niche as a globetrotting philanthropist. The former US president has used his political contacts and populist touch to bring together corporate interests, politicians, non-profit organizations, and major charitable donors to promote his vision of market-driven development. Working through the Clinton Foundation and in roles such as UN Special Envoy to Haiti, much of Clinton’s work has focused on Latin America.
Who is Maria Clara Choucair and How Did She Rock the World of Colombia IT?
February 7th, 2012
Choucair: People said software testing is something users do.
Testing firm’s founder overcomes skeptics and machismo with a ‘humanist’ operating philosophy
By James Bargent
When Maria Clara Choucair founded Choucair Testing in 1999, it was the first software testing company in Colombia and one of only a handful in Latin America. The company started with a workforce of one – Maria Clara Choucair. Thirteen years later, Choucair Testing has 450 employees, branches in Medellin and Bogota and Lima, Peru, and a host of big-name clients.
Upstarts Threaten Big Players in Potential LatAm BPO Boom
February 6th, 2012
Santiago: Sustained vertical drive.
By Dan Berthiaume
Latin American nations make up about one-quarter of the 2012 list of Top 100 outsourcing locations compiled by global outsourcing research/advisory firm Tholons, and that is no accident. As Manuel Ravago, president for research at Tholons, explains, Latin America is an up-and-comer in the world of BPO. And more agile smaller countries might make the most of that.
Latin America ‘Weak’ Infrastructure Starts to Get a Major Facelift
February 3rd, 2012
Peru, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Colombia drive forward with big projects
By Clayton Browne
Latin America has long been considered a laggard in terms of global infrastructure development, but that perception should be changing. Countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Peru, as well as Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, have all begun major long-term infrastructure projects ranging from roads to dams to telecommunications towers to airports. Infrastructure development in the areas of energy, transportation and telecommunications have seen the greatest recent growth, with estimates ranging as high as $450 billion, to be spent on infrastructure in the area between 2011 and 2015.
Can Latin American Providers Meet the Demand?
February 2nd, 2012
By Bill Huber, Partner, ISG, and Kristen Elvinger, Research Associate
Concerns exist over the capacity of Latin American service providers to absorb rapid growth. Several global providers currently have a presence in Latin America, and tax and other trade incentives will help attract more outsourcers to the region. And, many Latin American countries are positioned to further develop emerging areas of specialization. Indeed, lessons learned from India, China, and some Eastern European countries suggest that specialization and quality-focused differentiation will be the keys to success, especially for countries with small populations.
Telefonica’s Wayra and MIT Sign Global Partnership
January 27th, 2012Source: The Next Web
Telefonica‘s startup accelerator Wayra and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) signed a global partnership, the two entities announced. The agreement was signed during the launch of Mexico’s Wayra Academy.
As we reported, Wayra is an initiative promoted by Telefonica Digital to foster entrepreneurship and innovation in the ICT sector. Wayra works as a startup accelerator, selecting ten projects in each country in which it operates, which then receive mentoring and other resources at one of the newly opened Wayra spaces.
Initially launched in seven Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela), Wayra is now expanding to Europe, starting with the imminent launch of a Wayra Academy in Madrid.
Following Wayra’s agreement with MIT, the two entities will collaborate on a series of initiatives in Latin America. Wayra academies in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela and Argentina are the first to join the …
Investment Data Reveals State of Interest in Latin America Locations
January 25th, 2012By Reshaad Durgahee
Lima, Peru: Surprisingly emerging.
In the period 2003 through 2010, Europe and Asia were the largest recipient regions of foreign investment projects in shared services and BPO activities, accounting for 46% and 29% respectively. Meanwhile, interest in Latin America has clearly been growing. The number of shared services and BPO foreign investment projects in Latin America rose year on year until 2010, when the total number of projects entering the region decreased by 15%.
Pereira’s Perils on the Way to Call Center ‘Promised Land’
January 23rd, 2012By Patrick Haller
Positioned in Colombia’s lush Coffee Triangle region, the city of Pereira has been called “Paradise.” However, it has probably not seemed that way to some of the local population. In 2009 the city was hit by the highest unemployment in the nation at 24%, despite being home to a Suzuki motorbike plant, Busscor (the main manufacturer of vehicles for Colombian mass transit systems), textile plants and, of course, coffee production. As a possible remedy to that situation, the government of Pereira – like that of its smaller sister-city Manizales – has created a stream of incentives to attract IT companies and call centers.
Foreign Direct Investment Surges in Colombia
January 17th, 2012Source: Bloomberg
Colombia’s peso rose to an almost four-month high after foreign-direct investment in the South American country surged and global demand for higher-yielding assets rebounded.
The peso climbed 0.5 percent to 1,837.40 per U.S. dollar from 1,846 yesterday. It touched 1,832.31 on Jan. 13, its strongest intraday level since Sept. 19. The peso has jumped 5.5 percent so far this year, the best performance among world currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
Foreign-direct investment jumped 56 percent to $14.8 billion in 2011 from a year earlier, with 82 percent going into oil and mining, according to preliminary trade balance data from the central bank released on Jan. 13. Gains in global stocks also helped boost the peso, said Julian Marquez, an analyst at Interbolsa SA, Colombia’s biggest brokerage. U.S. and European stocks rose as slowing Chinese growth added to speculation that monetary policy at the world’s second-largest economy will ease.
“Investment flows continue …
