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In Buenos Aires, The Creative Class Runneth Over

On August 25, 2010, In buenos aires events, competitiveness, creative class, entrepreneurs, visionaries, by InvestBA
arteBA 2010 Sign

Annual events like arteBA and BAFWeek showcase BA's rising tide of creativity and entrepreneurial activity.

Entrepreneurship and creativity are two of our favorite topics @InvestBA. When we were choosing content category names for the site, we opted for The Creative Class as a nod to urban studies theorist Richard Florida.

In his 2002 best seller, Florida developed a Creativity Index to rank cities based on key criteria like Talent, Technology and Tolerance (aka the Three T’s). The review from Atlantic Monthly summed up the book’s thesis beautifully: Why cities without gays and rock bands are losing the economic development race.

Most BA visitors come away with the impression the city is chock full of the first, trying hard to nurture the second and taking the regional lead with the third. (Given the recent marriage decision, “gay friendly” tourism will flourish here like no other corner of the Americas.)

Now comes the annual ranking from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) that confirms our suspicions we’re living in a magnet for creativity and entrepreneurial activity. “Buenos Aires is the Latin American city with the highest start-up rate per capita,” writes BBC Mundo’s Veronica Smink adding, “BA also fares well in comparison with some of the world’s major cities, taking seventh place in terms of entrepreneurial activity ahead of cities like New York, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona and Amsterdam.”

The majority of BA entrepreneurs are between 18-35 years old and focused on technology, design and visual arts. In closing, Smink says start-up growth should continue its upward trajectory given Argentina’s rich talent and human resource advantages. The GEM report’s only negative? The failure rate of local start-ups is fairly high after 2-3 years. But in the immortal words of Winston Churchill, Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.

Or in the words of Michael Scott, If tomorrow my company goes under I will just start another paper company. And then another and another and another. I have no shortage of company names. (Full article in Spanish)

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Is 40 the new 60? Buenos Aires Job Seekers Fight Back

On June 15, 2010, In competitiveness, culture, by InvestBA
When 40 is the new 60

Age discrimination in the workplace is a cause for concern among Argentina's unemployed.

For most, turning 40 is a great milestone in one’s career. You’ve got at least fifteen years of solid work experience with multiple employers, you’ve developed a rich network of contacts in your industry, and you’re well positioned to achieve even greater success over the next twenty years.

With such a wealth of real world experience and industry savvy, any employer would be lucky to have you. Unfortunately for many workers in Argentina, turning 40 isn’t a jovial rite of passage. In fact, in a society that covets the beauty and virility of youth, it’s something akin to a death sentence for those seeking employment.

When he recently started looking for a new job, Buenos Aires computer programmer Roberto Matera met a wall of age discrimination. He was rejected repeatedly for being over 40 by several companies who aren’t shy about their totally archaic “No Hires Over 40″ policy.

Undeterred, Matera launched E+40, an employment website for Argentine workers over 40. It turns out Roberto wasn’t alone. In less than a year almost 6,000 job seekers have joined E+40, and more than 70 employers post openings in industries ranging from IT to Finance to Design. What began as a personal protest against corporate ageism has blossomed into a thriving website and social network movement. To date, over 43,000 Argentines have joined the facebook group opposing age discrimination in the workplace. (Full Story)

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South America’s Most Livable Cities: Buenos Aires & Montevideo

On May 31, 2010, In competitiveness, foreign investment, lifestyle, us companies, by InvestBA
Buenos Aires and Montevideo quality of living index from Mercer

No Surprises: Buenos Aires and Montevideo were the highest ranked cities in South America.

While global mergers and acquisitions are based largely on perceived synergies and potential bottom line impact, a very human-oriented discussion typically emerges once the deal is done. Who do we send from the Home Office to manage the new foreign subsidiary? How is the quality of life there vis-a -vis the U.S.? And, of course, what is an appropriate compensation package for our soon-to-be expats?

Fortunately Mercer, a global leader in HR consulting, has the answers in their just-released 2010 Quality of Living Survey. Unlike the International Living index which focuses on variables important to retirees, the Mercer survey is designed to help multinationals fairly compensate their employees working abroad, and New York with a score of 100 is used as the base city.

The La Nacion headline came as no surprise to InvestBA readers: Buenos Aires, the best city to live in South America. In fact, out of 221 cities, Buenos Aires and our other local favorite,  Montevideo, were ranked back-to-back at #78 and #79, the two highest ranking metros in South America, followed by Santiago (#90), Brasilia (#104), Rio (#116), and Sao Paulo (#117).

For more information about investment opportunities in Argentina and Uruguay, download the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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Growth & HR Challenges for BA Tech Sector

On March 30, 2010, In competitiveness, foreign investment, technology, by InvestBA
Recruitment flyer for IBM Argentina; IT demand outweighs the supply of candidates in Buenos Aires.

Recruitment flyer for IBM Argentina; IT demand outweighs the supply of candidates in Buenos Aires.

Representatives of two of the biggest players in the Buenos Aires IT space made back-to-back appearances on the BA business radio program Efecto Mariposa (Butterfly Effect) today and shared valuable insight on the advantages and challenges to sustained sector growth in Argentina.

IBM Argentina‘s Director of Marketing, Communications & Community Relations, Ignacio Vaca de Osma, said the English accent spoken here and the time zone overlap with the U.S. were two local advantages of doing business in BA.

In terms of challenges, he emphasized the need to re-evaluate and accelerate the traditional Argentine six-year university programs. BA students would be much more inclined to choose an IT career if they could finish in three years and start working for a first-class company like IBM immediately upon graduation.

Carlos Stella, Human Resources Director for Tata Consultancy Services in Latin America, agreed with the need for curriculum tweaking, emphasizing the need for intensive English language and cultural integration training, considering many local IT employees have supervisors in foreign countries. Tata currently has 240 employees working in the new Parque Patricios Tech District and plans to have 1,400 by year-end.

Argentines make up roughly 90% of Tata’s current workforce with employees from India filling out the ranks. Both representatives felt greater emphasis needs to be placed on promoting IT careers if the country is going to keep pace with the global demand. As Vaca de Osma summed it up, “this is an historic opportunity to generate value-added services for the world.”

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