When it comes to remote talent pools, there's been plenty of talk about Europe and Asia. Now, it's time to talk about Latin America, which has a talent pool you simply shouldn't ignore. Some Latin American cities have even been declared the region's new Silicon Valley. These include Mexico City, Medellín, Santiago, Buenos Aires, and many more.
California's tech hub is contributing $275 billion to the US economy annually, but can these Latin American tech hubs reach the same potential? Below, we've discussed the top Latin America tech hubs that offer endless opportunities to develop specialized tech teams.
How big is the tech talent pool in Latin America?
In 2021, Latin America was the world's fastest-growing region for venture funding. This funding has grown steadily over the past five years, and it has only doubled each year since 2016. In 2019, it reached a record high of $4.96 billion.
There are 739,000 new tech graduates annually in the region, ensuring that Latin America's talent pool is big enough for your digitization.
Why Latin American tech hubs are optimal for US companies looking to hire remote globally
For several reasons, Latin American tech hubs are ideal for Canadian or US companies looking to hire remotely globally. Here are a few reasons:
Same or adjacent time zones to the US
The regions' similar or adjacent time zones are one of the main reasons Latin America has become a standard for US companies when hiring remote tech talent. All Latin American tech hubs either share the same time zone or are one hour ahead of US Eastern Time.
Geographic proximity to the US
Other than time zone proximity, Latin America also has geographic proximity to the US. This makes it much easier for US companies to hire remote talent without being too disconnected from their hires.
Plus, once they've gauged the economic stability of Latin American tech hubs, companies may want to expand their business to those cities to benefit from lower taxes, investment incentives, grants, and fewer travel barriers.
English proficiency
Since Latin America is close to the US, English-speaking proficiency is high compared to other regions. This makes it easier for companies to communicate with remote tech talent and tech startup owners.
Large, growing talent pool that is less tapped than traditional hubs
Latin America has a significantly large talent pool that is still fairly untapped compared to traditional tech hubs in Europe and Asia.
This means that the tech talent of 739k tech annual graduates in Latin America is still majorly unemployed. In contrast, the US only has 65k tech graduates annually, with over 300k tech jobs opening up annually.
In simpler words, the US has too many tech jobs and insufficient internal talent to fill them. This makes Latin America's underemployed talent pool the perfect option to hire remote tech talent.
Similar culture
North America and South America share similar cultures, making it much easier for US companies to build long-term tech teams in Latin America. This means that the teams share the same holidays and workdays, ensuring no days when the company is operating but understaffed.
Top 7 tech centers in Latin America and their alignment with US time zones
Here are the top seven Latin American tech centers, their tech hub cities, and their alignment with the US time zones.
Brazil
Brazil is one of the top Latin American tech centers, as it produces nearly 475k tech graduates every year. In addition, the average annual cost to hire Brazilian tech talents is $99,707.52.
This makes Brazil the ideal region for US companies to save money on new tech hires. In addition, the country's IT sector is also highly advanced, thanks to the government's investment in education and innovation initiatives.
It's worth noting that Brazil's talent pool specializes in software development, specifically front-end developers and full-stack developers.
Brazilian tech hub cities
Some of the main Brazilian tech hub cities are São Paulo, Curitiba, Recife, and Florianopolis.
São Paulo
São Paulo is first on the list for many reasons, but mainly because it's known as the innovation powerhouse of Brazil. The city boasts 60% of all tech startup investments in Brazil due to the heavy flow of venture capital funding.
São Paulo also has the highest number of fintech startups in all of Brazil while accommodating a rich tech ecosystem. For these reasons, major corporations like Amazon, Uber, and Spotify have expanded their business to Brazil and made the city their first choice while looking for Latin American tech talent.
Curitiba
Curitiba has recently placed itself in the IT sector but was originally known for its urban and architectural work. An initiative called Vale do Pinhão is helping fintech, tech startups, and software companies flourish in this city.
In addition, the large amount of tech talent in the neighborhood of Guadalupe Church has earned downtown Curitiba the name "Guadalupe Valley."
Recife
Recife is a town in the northeast of Brazil, home to Porto Digital, which was one of the first Brazilian innovation parks when it was built in 2000. Recife's historic buildings were restored to accommodate incubators, innovation centers, and headquarters for local startups.
Multinational corporations such as Accenture have joined the innovation park of over 300 companies, producing an annual revenue of $3.4 million. Recife's innovation park is doing a lot to enhance the Latin American tech talent pool.
Florianopolis
Lastly, Florianopolis is a tourist-attracting island in Brazil, but its tech industry surpasses its tourist industry in revenue. Over 4,000 tech companies in Florianopolis accumulate an annual revenue of $1.3 billion.
It's safe to say that Florianopolis is a place of tech innovation, with at least six generations of tech companies emerging from the island.
US time zone overlap
Brazil has four time zones, all of which have some overlap with US workdays. Most Brazilians live in Brasília time, BRT (UTC−03:00), which is one hour ahead of US Eastern Time.
Mexico
Next on the list is Mexico, which has seen a sharp rise in tech startups and graduates thanks to the investments of public and private initiatives in the country. Mexico has 13,000 tech graduates each year.
In addition, it's a great place for US companies to save money due to the low average monthly salary. The average range of annual cost to hire Mexican tech talents is between $90,000.00 and $125,000.00.
Mexican tech hub cities
Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Mexico City are some of the main Mexican tech hub cities.
Monterrey
Monterrey is Mexico's most Americanized city and is home to over 100 innovation parks. The city is also home to Mexico's biggest corporations, such as Cemex, Femsa, Banorte and BanRegio, Soriana, and Farmacia Benavides.
Other than that, US companies like Femca, Coca-Cola, and Digital On Us have already created bases in this city. Monterrey is competing with Guadalajara as the major tech hub of Mexico, boasting 320 companies in the IT sector and 28,000 tech professionals.
Guadalajara
Guadalajara has been compared to Silicon Valley many times due to its status as the most important technological cluster in Mexico. The city is currently home to 600 tech companies, such as Voxfeed, WePow, Yotepresto, Ooyala, and Kueski, and 78,000 tech professionals.
In addition, it's the fifth most digitized city in Latin America and boasts investments from tech corporations like Intel, IBM, and HP.
Mexico City
Mexico City has a population of 21 million, and it often serves as a gateway to Latin America. Undoubtedly, it's one of the most promising tech hubs in Mexico. Major, multinational tech corporations such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter have built offices in Mexico City.
The city boasts 110,000 tech graduates annually, expanding the talent pool dramatically.
US time zone overlap
Depending on the city, Mexico shares the US Pacific, Central, and Eastern time zones. This time zone compatibility is another reason that Mexico is an appealing and accessible tech center for US companies to gather tech talent remotely.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica has a fairly small population of nearly 5 million, but that hasn't stopped it from becoming a prominent tech center in Latin America.
The average range of annual cost to hire Costa Rican tech talents is between $85,000.00 and $129,380.00, depending on area of specialty and seniority level. Costa Rica also produces 4,000 tech graduates per year.
The country's talent pool specializes in BPO and software development; companies that need agile software developers would be wise to opt for Costa Rica. It's worth noting that Costa Rica has a 98% literacy rate, making for a highly educated workforce.
Costa Rican tech hub cities
The main Costa Rican tech hub cities include San José and Guanacaste.
San José
San José has over 400 tech companies operating in the city, with major corporations like Microsoft setting up base. In addition, the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica plans to start operations in San José.
Guanacaste
Guanacaste is a fairly small and quiet city in Costa Rica, but it has seen a sharp rise in tech companies over the past few years, such as Astra Rocket, Continuum Data Center, and Nimiq. The city has a large talent pool of tech professionals that proves ideal for US companies searching for remote tech talent.
US time zone overlap
Costa Rica shares the same time zone as US Central Standard Time throughout the year, making it easier for companies to travel or communicate with remote tech talent.
Colombia
Colombia is the ideal fit for US companies on a budget in search of tech talent since the country has a very low average salary for tech professionals. In addition, the country creates 84,000 tech graduates per year, expanding the talent pool rapidly.
The average annual cost to hire Colombian tech talent is about $101,400.95. Colombia's software developers are most likely to be back-end and full-stack developers, as the country's talent pool specializes in software development.
There's no doubt that the country is dedicated to the rapid development of tech talent, as the Colombian government has recently established the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation.
Colombian tech hub cities
Some of the main Colombian tech hub cities are Bogotá, Medellín, and Santiago de Cali. Here's what you need to know about them.
Bogotá
Bogotá is a rapidly growing tech hub in Colombia and home to many high-profile tech startups. The local presence of US tech firms, the number of tech graduates, the high volume of startups, and local VC investments are just a few factors that indicate a promising tech future for Bogotá.
It's worth noting that Bogotá's GDP is higher than the Latin American average of 2%, growing at a rate of 3.6% in the past decade.
Medellín
Undoubtedly, Medellín is the most innovation-minded tech hub in Colombia and the most affordable. It's worth noting that the city's 80 higher education institutions produce 13% of all tech graduates in Colombia.
A few of the biggest tech companies are investing in Medellín, such as Blackbeard, Oracle, and Red Hat. In addition, within this decade, the government plans to add 20,000 new tech-related jobs in the city.
Santiago de Cali
Santiago de Cali's tech is currently small and humble, but it has big potential for US companies looking for remote tech talent. In addition, the city's Universidad del Valle is one of the main contributors to Colombia's 100k+ annual tech graduates.
Since the hiring market is less competitive than in Medellín, it's easier for US companies to hire talent, especially DevOps hires, from this city than anywhere else in Latin America.
US time zone overlap
Colombia shares the same time zone as US Central Standard Time throughout the year, keeping the country accessible to US recruitment teams at all times.
Chile
The average salary in Chile is $106,960.32, while there are 61k tech graduates in the country per year. The country is home to over 2,000 enterprises that generate annual revenue of $2.1 billion.
Startup Chile is one of the major corporations in Chile that is among the top 10 global startup accelerators.
Chilean tech hubs
The main Chilean tech hub cities are Santiago and Concepción. Here's what you need to know about them.
Santiago
Regarding tech talent availability, Santiago ranks the third highest in Latin America. The city is only outperformed by Mexico City and São Paulo, making it an untapped region that US companies should consider while hiring remote tech talent.
Concepción
Concepción is home to the famous Biobío Scientific and Technological Park, which continually works toward the country's investment in innovation. The innovation park is based on the University of Concepción campus and mainly aims to improve Chile's quality of life.
US time zone overlap
Chile shares the same time zone as US Eastern Time throughout the year.
Uruguay
Uruguay is a small South American country that has gained its reputation as the ideal hub for software development in the region. Since over 83% of the country's population has internet access with one of the fastest download speeds in the region, it's home to some of the best tech professionals in Latin America.
Over 1,000 software development projects are operating in Uruguay, accumulating nearly $1 billion in annual revenue.
Uruguayan tech hub city
The main Uruguayan tech hub city is Montevideo. Here's what you need to know about it.
Montevideo
Almost all of Uruguay's tech companies have settled in Montevideo, which is the major contributor to the country's STEM graduates. In addition, the average salary of a software engineer in Montevideo is approximately $100,796.30, making it easy for US companies to get remote hires on a budget.
US time zone overlap
Uruguay is only one hour ahead of US Eastern Time.
Argentina
Argentina is home to 134,000 tech graduates, most of whom are app developers and data administrators, making for a highly versatile talent pool. The average salary range to hire Argentinian tech talents is between $90,000.00 to $128,500.00, and is dependent on the area of expertise and seniority level.
The country's talent pool specializes in software development and staff augmentation. In addition, its close time zone proximity and English-speaking proficiency make it an ideal option for remote tech hires.
Argentinian tech hub cities
The main Argentinian tech hub cities are Buenos Aires and Córdoba. Here's all you need to know about them.
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is home to 90% of Argentinian tech startup activity. The city is filled with a highly educated workforce. In addition, it is known for its robust ecosystem of cryptocurrency companies.
Córdoba
Córdoba has earned the nickname "La Docta" due to its dedication to education and learning. The city is home to the fifth-best accelerator in Latin America, Incutex. Besides that, the city contributes majorly to the 20k STEM graduates in Argentina annually.
US time zone overlap
Argentina is only one hour ahead of US Eastern Time.
Source, hire, and pay remote tech talent in Latin America with Revelo
Latin America has a high rate of STEM graduates (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), making the region ideal for US companies to hire remote tech talent. In addition, the time zone, geographical proximity, and cultural similarities make it an even more attractive option.
If you're looking to hire remote Latin American tech talent, Revelo is the best platform to source, hire, and pay vetted tech professionals. The platform has a well-established, automated system that takes care of your business's hiring and payroll requirements. So instead of spending your time and effort on recruitment. let Revelo find the most suitable candidates for your company.
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