This month I celebrate four years since I returned to my home country, Uruguay, after 13 wonderful years in the UK. The reasons for the return were personal, but I can see how it made business sense, too. Since I’ve been back in Latin America, I’ve been able to offer UK clients a much more down-to-earth service and support, right from within the region. This time has been invaluable for building a network of contacts that my clients value and that enriches our work. Above all, I’ve been able to travel to other nine countries and over 20 cities, learning so much about my very own continent.
But how about Uruguay? What have four years back in Suarez’s land taught me about this peculiar South American nation that I’m proud to call my own?
1- There are huge opportunities in Uruguay
A stable country with strong macroeconomic policies and a built-in respect for the law make Uruguay the country of choice for many multinational companies that set up operations, most of them regional if not global, including Velcro, Trafigura and Weyerhaeuser.
Key sectors to look at in Uruguay include agritech, logistics, forestry, education, infrastructure, tourism and IT.
Also look at Uruguay’s free trade zone network, which has attracted companies like PepsiCo, Sabre Holdings and Baker Tilly.
World-class.
2- Education and security are the country’s biggest concerns
Uruguay used to boast about its population’s education. Recent PISA rankings have only emphasised what we all know: our education is not anywhere near what we all hope it would be. Room for improvement here is unlimited as the country risks its future competitiveness and its place in the world.
Security is a major concern, particularly in Montevideo. Hooliganism is a national concern as well as domestic violence and day-to-day burglary and thefts. Uruguay is a safe country compared to the Latin American average and you will probably feel safe here but there’s a lot to be done. Road safety is also a major concern.
3- Trade Unions have a lot of power
Some people even say that they rule the country. The power of trade unions has shocked me since I’ve been back and it’s something I advise investors to look at when establishing operations here (they will clearly have more influence if you’re setting up a factory than a call centre). Uruguay went out of TISA negotiations because the national trade union congress put enough pressure on the government to leave the negotiating table (or even enter the negotiation room, I’d say).
4- Small Town v Big World mentality
Most Uruguayans want the country, stuck in protectionist Mercosur, to open up to the world, but at the same time there’s some reticence coming from being such a small country and being fearful of the world out there. You will find in Uruguay a lot of people with amazing capacity and skills who work internationally and compete in the big leagues, but you will also find those (see point above) who somehow think we’re better off being the insular country we were a long time ago.
Recent developments in ecommerce legislation are a good example of this. The Uruguayan government has recently reduced the number of parcels you can buy online in a year (from abroad) from 4 to 3 (each of no more than USD 200 and 20 kg in weight). Liberal, progressive legislation like that around marijuana or gay marriage seem to be at odds with restrictive laws like this.
5- Poor Little Uruguay v Great Little Uruguay
Connected to the point above is the “Poor Little Uruguay” syndrome my (English) husband goes on and on about. The mentality that because we are small, we can’t do anything too big or special (very huge contrast with our Argentine neighbour’s “can do” attitude). Uruguayans are very “grey”, we say, quite low-key and rather pessimistic about everything. For every proposal or idea there’s a shade of Uruguayan grey (negative attitude) attached (I even wrote about this for a national newspaper, contrasting it with the Costa Rican “pura vida” attitude).
However, after four years in Uruguay, that evident “Poor Little Uruguay” syndrome has cohabited in my life with a much more refreshing “Great Little Uruguay” syndrome. And I’m not just talking about producing the best football players per capita in the world. Some people here really rock, they’re world-class at whatever they do, from dancers to mathematicians, from writers to biologists. And some Uruguayan businesses I’ve come across are evidence that “Great Little Uruguay” does exist, companies like Infocorp, GlamST, Costa Oriental or Zonamerica, to name a few.
I’d like to think we’re part of “Great Little Uruguay”!
5- Patience and Resilience
Probably connected to bureaucracy (I just typed “bureaucrazy” and that’s probably just as accurate!), the rather understated yet awfully useful skills of patience and resilience have been tested to the limit here (I started my training on those when I had children but moving to Uruguay, with the children, has only exponentially increased said skills…).
What I’ve learnt also is what I tell my clients all the time: building a network here is absolutely critical. And my network includes top-notch lawyers, accountants and all sorts of support to survive confusing and every changing scenarios… You need a dream team and you need to pay for this support because going solo will be much more expensive in the long-run (and a lot worse for your mental health, too).
Above all, four years in Uruguay have taught me to value taking my time, working to live and not viceversa, relationships and pauses. A country where people matter more than schedules must be a good country to live in! And a great platform for the region, too.
