Opening A Software Development Center In Argentina??

[Xeneizes]

I work for a consulting firm in BA whose primary clients are international, and I echo the sentiments that now is a very bad time to start a company here, even more so if it does business internationally.

 

[quebuenaonda]

Hi All,

I came across this thread in a Google inquiry. I am wondering if the situation has changed given the new president? I know the official exchange rate is now in line with what the precio blue was. I am wondering if anyone has an opinion on the outlook for foreign companies seeking to open a development center in the country?

A little bit of information about my situation. I have a tech start up in the US and am familiar with the tech talent in Argentina having lived there for a number of years, teaching business English inside tech companies in bs as and cba. Ultimately, I would like to set up a development team there to create proprietary software/apps used by company in the US. It is an appealing idea for me as Argentina has a surfeit of qualified programmers and the country is full of very creative individuals - something difficult to find in other geographies. However, I am aware of the 13th sueldo, struggles with AFIP, cultural differences, etc. Any advice on how the situation may have changed (I know the culture hasn't) or predictions on how it might in the coming year(s) are welcome and appreciated!

 

[Girino]

He's been in office since 3 months now. Sure he made some pretty steep changes, but there is still a lot to do. Importing goods is still heavily taxed (in case you need testing on recent hardware this could be an issue), moving money in and out of the country is easier (is being made easier), workers are still the same (low wage). Personally, cost of life has increased, and rent prices are still very high for being in Argentina. However, I hear that the potential in your field here is high.

 

[camberiu]

Any advice on how the situation may have changed (I know the culture hasn't) or predictions on how it might in the coming year(s) are welcome and appreciated!

It has not changed and it will not change. Despite all the wishful thinking you see on this forum, Macri is not a "transformational" leader. He is just a return to what it was before the Ks took power.

The inflexible labor laws, the bureaucracy, the ridiculous taxation, the paternalistic view of the employer/employee relationship, are all too ingrained in this society and change, if it ever happens, will be slow and painful.

Argentina has very good engineering talent at very competitive nominal prices. But the amount of hoops and headaches one has to go through in order to do business in Argentina completely cancels out any price advantage you might find here.

 

[Noesdeayer]

Quebuenaonda: Great handle!
Why don't you contact [email protected] at Freelancers y Profesionales Independientes de Bs.As. In Spanish or English.
for more info re software set uphere. Hernan is one of the leaders of our Meet Up Group.
I myself have been working in the soft skills and blended learning areas of corporate training in B.A. since 1979.
At 74 I'm starting up the business once again.Don't listen to Camberiu.He's all Malaonda .
The business climate is changing quickly here and will continue to do so.
70 years of peronist protectionism and no risk taking don't change overnight but it is a very positive beginning
His comments re: engineering talent is a huge plus.

 

[sleslie23]

Ah, I remember this ole thread.

The short, blunt answer: Argentina is not some untapped gold-mine of IT talent that no one knows about. Many have come, including IBM and Oracle, set up a development center in Argentina, and have since retreated. One of the major reasons are the labor laws Camberiu mentions above. Add to that unpredictable budgets due to inflation and a host of other issues and it just isn't worth the headache.

 

[Noesdeayer]

sleslie23;
More Malaonda.
O:K. Buenaonda. Why don't you do some research,keep your eyes on progress in the problem areas mentioned and check back in maybe 10 months or so.

 

[quebuenaonda]

Thanks for your input, gang!

I realize that change is slow and that a company/employee paradigm shift may take many years, decades or perhaps never come to fruition. I am aware of the difficulties and the previous failures, however, I do believe that younger talented engineers would gravitate toward working at a tech company that cares about their employees and treats them well. Competitive pay, scaled back version of silicon valley fringe benefits (ping pong, food, and gym paid for), plus an equity play in the parent company is something which I don't see present in Bs As today. Maybe this is for a good reason (per the aforementioned hurdles) or perhaps it just hasn't been attempted by a start up yet - that is the million dollar question.

Nevertheless, I find the recent changes promising, namely the ability to transfer money at a realistic exchange rate. Any advice, criticism or thoughts are more than welcome!

Noesdeayer: Thank you for the contact - I will reach out them!

 

[fifs2]

Flexible benefits are par for the course in local tech based companies and have been for years..Globant had a climbing wall for employees since the early noughties (or was it Google..maybe it´s an urban myth..)...now if you offered lunchtime lapdances that may be an offer that would be appealing and stand out from the crowd....


l. Competitive pay, scaled back version of silicon valley fringe benefits (ping pong, food, and gym paid for), plus an equity play in the parent company is something which I don't see present in Bs As today. Maybe this is for a good reason (per the aforementioned hurdles) or perhaps it just hasn't been attempted by a start up yet - that is the million dollar question.

 

[camberiu]

Flexible benefits are par for the course in local tech based companies and have been for years..Globant had a climbing wall for employees since the early noughties (or was it Google..maybe it´s an urban myth..)...now if you offered lunchtime lapdances that may be an offer that would be appealing and stand out from the crowd....

The Google and Facebook offices in BA offer the whole thing, not scaled back versions of sillicon valley. Still, Google and facebook opted to not bring any development/eng work to Argentina. Google does have a big eng/development office in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.