Tech Environment in Argentina
A lot of people relates ‘technology’ to ‘Silicon Valley’, as if they were synonyms, and for the most part they are right. Just by having a glance into the famous valley in California you would see only but technology and equity owners. This reality has started to create the general thought that if you want to work in the technology industries you’ve got no option but moving to the San Francisco Bay Area. And while if you live in the Bay Area you might have an easier access to the industry, there are other geographical options. Argentina is one, a country that has made a significant and increasing development of its technology industries.
Argentina’s policy on innovative industries like the creation of a network of tech companies for international promotion is helping many of these organizations jump into foreign markets like North America and Europe. Other incentives of Argentina are the quality of graduates, the creativity, and the cooperation between academia and the business sector that encourages the development in the industry. In the other side, inflation and an unstable currency market has been deterrents for Argentine businesses and entrepreneurs.
‘Globant’ is an example of a successful Argentine technology company. In the early 2000’s four friends decided on creating a software and IT company in Buenos Aires with the solely aim of having clients in the US and the UK. This led them first to the UK where they landed their first contract. Then they firmly entered the software industry by hacking the google wallet payment platform and gaining their professional respect. Today the almost 15 years old company from Argentina has an annual revenue of 200 million USD, more than 4700 employees, and 90% of its sales come from North America and Europe.
Another important player in the industry is ‘Hexacta’, which started operations in the year 2000 with four people in a small office of Buenos Aires. They are a technology consulting and software development company. This company has overcome both national and international economic crises, a capability thats is usually shared by many Argentine companies since the country has had many instability times during its history. Hexacta today employees more than 400 professionals that work for clients all over the world, however its international revenue accounts only to a 50% of its total revenue since it’s an active player nationally.
A relatively new comer to the tech rodeo is the company ‘Making Sense’. Established in 2006 by two brothers, they offer software development services for other businesses but at the same time they have developed their own successful online marketing products.
The future of Argentine tech companies seems bright from an international competitive point of view thanks to the once again working currency market and the growing international relationships of the current government. However internally Argentina has to work to stay relevant about their workforce. Alex Robio, president and co-founder of Belatrix, a software development company, states with respect to education in the country that “With the dynamic changes currently underway in the technology sector, education systems must actively change to ensure young people have the skills they need to enter the workforce”.
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