I’m baaaaack….! Sorry I have been M.I.A. over the past few months and posting intermittently. After 3 years of entirely too much work and little play, a cowboy cutie pie in midwestern USA has won my heart. So now I have someone with whom I can explore strange new worlds; talk about the concept of a university degree in ‘space ethics’; and share my crazy futuristic global business predictions. And to think my bit of eccentricity and randomness is all completely ‘normal’ to him. Imagine what a character he is!
Aside from that, life at AndesBeat has been busy, productive and definitively ALL GOOD DAYS! Our team is growing. Although we still consider media as our core, we have been expanding our consulting and value added services. As the first hint of forthcoming economic development in emerging economies is infrastructure development – we’re supporting prime contractors and their suppliers with raising funds ($50 million+) for infrastructure development in emerging economies. This also requires establishing first level G2G relations (government to government); early stage market research; and content creation. Over the next weeks we will be introducing some of our awesome international consultants who support these companies in their early stage international market exploration and expansion.
Needless to say, given all this activity, you know at AndesBeat we are more about creating the news than simply reporting it. And the more we are in the daily grind, the more opportunities and challenges we see. So we are hoping our ‘Startup Week in Review’ will provide some existing news plus insights that will trigger both startup and big business ideas and help some of our projects in terms of filling their strategic partner needs. We’re also going to start sharing content and real life experiences in doing business in LatAm from some rockstars working in the region as well.
As always, don’t hesitate to reach us through the contact form with whatever ideas, feedback or questions you have.
Welcome…Hospitality + Tourism Startups!
If you are not doing something related to these industries, you might want to consider the boom these industries are about to experience in Latin America. Think it is related to Brazil being host for the World Cup and the Olympics…think again. As of Feb. 2014, a reported 319 hotels are in the development pipeline for both Central and South America. Check it
Still not convinced about the consumer purchasing power of LatAm’s rising middle and upper class: SEE: Diageo http://bit.ly/1gYXlvI (bam)!
Tesla + Lithium = Business with Chile
At some point, somewhere, I am sure I have written about lithium battery technology and wonder if the Chinese will somehow figure out a way to create some kind of synthetic lithium battery technology or what they see as a workaround solution. So this is the thing, Tesla is on a mission to get first dibs on lithium for their cars and Chile is tops for mining lithium. But the thing is Chile does not finish products. A manufacturing company that produces lithium batteries in South America??? If Tesla is seeking to be the leader, they obviously know that the need for lithium and battery technology will continue to be pretty darn competitive. And as we know, competition breeds innovation. Dig it!
Also, GM just announced their first LEED Gold automotive plant in South America….
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mURbzh9t0_0[/youtube]
OMG – China invests $80 billion in LatAm in 2013
And speaking of the Chinese…if they are not afraid to sell steak egg rolls in the ghettos of the U.S. you definitely should not expect them to be afraid to do business anywhere in LatAm. The investors we are working with based in Southeast Asia are truly looking to the possibilities and opportunities in Latin America. I once heard that Santiago could be like the Hong Kong of South America in terms of trade. And given all their free trade agreements perhaps (but you still need to FINISH something Chile – get on it)!
Southeast Asian investors are thinking more of a ROI that goes to the generation(s) following them. So if they don’t see their money in the next 30, 50, 75 years, they are not tripping. You cannot build long-term businesses without good infrastructure in place. With infrastructure will come more opportunities for major companies and startups alike in waste management; energy; water; transportation; and communications. So they are putting out the investment to make that happen. Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Chile, Turkey and Ghana (see: Turkey – Ghana – Cocoa – 2016) are definitely among their hottest investment markets now. See why China is investing their money in LatAm.
Other events + announcements:
Bitcoin Hackathon announced – it will take place on April 5th!
Start-Up Chile Generation 10 apps are closing on March 25th
Asado Emprendedores this Saturday (3/22)
A women’s startup network has successfully launched in the Los Lagos region of Chile. Happy to see some expansion outside of Santiago and we wish them success in this new market.
