Narayan AmmachchiIf you’re keeping a list of exciting new Nearshore destinations, we recommend placing Villa Nueva, Guatemala at the top. The basis for this recommendation, and why Villa Nueva is unlike many newly emerging locations, can be found in a newly published E-Book, produced by Nearshore Americas and now available for download.
Barely 30-minutes drive from Guatemala City, Villa Nueva possesses a set of unique characteristics that make it well-suited as an outsourcing destination: strong ICT infrastructure, easy access to airports and a surprisingly rich bilingual talent base. But there are several addition factors that also should be taken into account. Most notably, the city has a highly engaged and proactive government which continues to aggressively nurture the expansion of cross-border knowledge services.
Dynamic and Welcoming Design
The ‘finishing touch’ to the case for the destination is the “Villa Nueva Business Park.” This facility, currently under construction, is scheduled to be up and running by the end of this year – and tenants will soon be in place to support global customers.
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The park is designed to create an impression of elegance – but with a welcoming, warm feel. The central building consists of a low-rise, four-story structure, with extensive landscaping for recreational activities. Each floor will have 3,000 square meters of office space, and there will be a cafeteria and training center, rooftop sports facilities and a heliport.
The E-book document is especially well suited for conveying the unique features of the business park. A range of reader-friendly tools are accessible to closely examine renderings, survey the visually stunning elements of the site design, and follow the narrative which details the entire project.
The center will also be equipped with high-speed internet access. Villa Nueva has landing points for several submarine cables running through the region, including ARCOS, AMX-1, American Movil-Texius West Coast Cable and the SAm1 fiber-optic submarine cable system.
A BPO Opportunity
The Guatemalan BPO industry has been growing at a rapid pace in the past few years, having generated 45,000 direct jobs. Last year, the sector exported US$693 million in services.
There are many factors driving the BPO industry, says the report, which serves as a ‘ready reckoner’ for call center firms looking to expand into the country. As well as infrastructure, the Central American country provides legal protection for foreign investors, in addition to a slew of tax benefits.
Guatemalans also have a cultural affinity with the United States, and they can work in the same time zone as many of their US counterparts. Many people in the country have spent time in the US and are thus able to speak fluent English.
As a Nearshore country, executives in most US cities can fly to Guatemala in around two or three hours. These days, even Indian outsourcing providers are seeing Guatemala as an ideal location to serve US clients. A few of them, including Genpact and HCL Tech, are already present in the country.
Meanwhile, Guatemala is expanding its BPO training program, known as ‘Finishing Schools,’ in order to make sure that it does not run short of talent. Created in 2015 by the Guatemalan Exporters Association (AGEXPORT) in collaboration with over a dozen BPO players in the market, the program has trained thousands of young Guatemalans in call center service over the years.
For a more thorough introduction to Villa Nueva and the newly launched business park, contact John Maalouf, principal with the development group, Nuevos Horizontes.
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