New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) has partnered with the Latin America Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence (LatAm CAPE) to help New Zealand businesses find success in Latin America.
Below, you can hear from some of these New Zealand businesses on their experience of operating in Latin America and learn top tips for getting started in the region, and discover why Latin America is a game-changer for business success.
Check out what these New Zealand companies have to say about their experience exporting their goods and services to Latin America.
Fingermark: Hear from Luke Irving from Fingermark about doing successful business in Latin America.
Flintfox: Hear from Leo Cunha from Flintfox about doing successful business in Latin America.
AD Instruments: Hear from Dr. Patricia Mendes, from AD Instruments, about doing successful business in Latin America.
DC Equipment: Hear from Dale Ewers about doing successful business in Latin America.
A-Ward: Hear from George Chavez from A-Ward about doing successful business in Latin America.
QConz: Hear from Josh Wheeler from QConz about doing successful business in Latin America.
Zespri: Hear from Inés Masallach from Zespri about doing successful business in Latin America.
Rascal + Friends: Hear from Matthew Banfield and Amelia Watson about doing successful business in Latin America.
Maxiloda: Hear from Gary Stannard from Maxiloda about doing successful business in Latin America.
Latin America is made up of more than 20 nations including Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Argentina and more.
The largest country in Latin America is Brazil with a population of more than 211 million.
Mexico, Chile and Peru are part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
Approximately one-third of Latin America's population falls into the "middle class" category.
Listen to Arun Elias, Associate Dean, International and Accreditation at Victoria University of Wellington, discuss the opportunities and challenges of operating in Latin America. He is joined by five Kiwi companies sharing their personal experiences of growing their businesses in Latin America. These academics, exporters and entrepreneurs share valuable advice for businesses looking to dip their toes in the Latin American market.
Many New Zealand companies are surprised by the level of innovation and development in Latin America. However, there can still be challenges. Arun Elias, Associate Dean, International and Accreditation at Victoria University, Wellington, explains, "If I had to sum up Latin America in a phrase, I would call it 'friendly chaos'. A lot of that is due to the sheer size. It's massive, both geographically and in terms of population. Thus supply chain management is a challenge - not always up to Kiwi standards - and with multiple stakeholders, there are bound to be conflicting interests wherever you go.
Which makes it all the more important for New Zealand businesses approaching the region to take a holistic view – do your research, understand your market there and think long term, rather than quick wins."
This largely depends on where you are operating and what industry you're in. At a management level in larger centres, you can find that most people speak English. However, if you're working with rural communities, they might only speak their local language.
In most cases, it's recommended to have someone locally on the ground who understands both the language and the culture. As Maxiloda found, "Often at a meeting or meeting with customers, it's what's not said rather than what is said, and you can only understand that if you're local, you know the culture and you know the people and the language."
LatAm CAPE and NZTE deliver events and tools to support the growth of New Zealand businesses in the Latin American region. Sign up to the LatAm CAPE newsletter and the myNZTE newsletter here to receive more information to help you get started.
You can also find more resources on the LatAm CAPE website.
The LatAm CAPE is one of three Centres of Asia-Pacific Excellence created to enhance economic, trade, political, and cultural relationships between New Zealand and North Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America respectively. LatAm CAPE helps New Zealanders learn about opportunities in Latin America, develop the cultural knowledge and language skills needed to engage with that region, and be better prepared to do business successfully there.
Te Taurapa Tūhono | New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) is the New Zealand government's international business development agency. Our job is to support exporters in order to grow a productive, sustainable and inclusive economy.
NZTE helps New Zealand businesses to grow internationally by:
