Latin America: The new epicenter of tech innovation

As a fast paced innovation hub for IT talent, Latin America is quickly becoming a jewel in the crown of the technology industry. And LATAM is not only centering itself as a leader in the remote workplace; the region is producing an impressive array of startups too.

Quite simply, there’s no better time to be a technologist living in Latin America!

While Silicon Valley has long dominated the IT industry as the capital of infrastructure and engineering, Latin America has quietly invested in their talent – and the results are paying off.

With the advent of both the remote and hybrid workplace, global organizations – particularly in the US – are widening their scope to find the best talent on offer. LATAM is becoming the preferred talent sourcing destination for US companies, offering access to highly-skilled technologists, shared time zones with many regions, a high level of English language proficiency, familiarity with North American culture, and the ease of traveling to many Latin American locations.

In recent years throughout LATAM, governments have invested big money in nurturing tech talent, with an increase in technical universities, courses and the development of national and local innovation incentive programs.

Talent is everywhere throughout Latin America, and with so many different regions offering a plethora of tech stack expertise and IT knowledge, global organizations can create experienced and diverse teams.

But what areas should software engineers, developers and other technologists look to as the upcoming tech hubs in LATAM?

Discover the future of tech in Latin America:

Brazil

With an average salary of USD 5,600 a month, and over 475,000 tech graduates per year, Brazil is at the forefront of remote work in Latin America. The Brazilian government has invested heavily in the IT education sector, with world leading universities such as Universidade de São Paulo and Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro being recognized for their quality of education and research. Even companies like Meta (Facebook) are cultivating Brazilian talent, with their Hack Station program, while Google and Softbank have set down roots by investing their time and money in the region. The future’s looking bright for Brazil. Not only has it become a haven for full stack and front end developers, its niche software development market has attracted the likes of IBM, Accenture and Unisys to source their IT talent. With Brazil being only one hour ahead of the EST time zone, the appeal of the region is likely to grow.

Argentina

Despite a slow start, due to political and cultural challenges, Argentina is rapidly developing its technology and remote working capabilities. With a deep commitment to educating new technologists, Argentina’s high levels of education and state investment mean it is becoming one of the leading hubs for tech talent – particularly its capital Buenos Aires. Argentina appeals to global organizations as a talent sourcing destination due to its time zone proximity, cultural similarities, and high English proficiency. Salaries are slightly higher than Brazil, with an average of USD 6,066 per month, with the most common roles including App Developers and and Data Administrators. With world-renowned companies such as Amazon and JP Morgan hunting for Staff Augmentation talent and Software Developers from Argentina, students will continue to make use of Argentina’s free higher education and train as developers.

Mexico

Not only does Mexico have the second-largest amount of tech talent in Latin America, but it is also a quickly developing engineering hotspot and global industry hub. As a result of heavy investment by both public and private initiatives in cities like Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, Mexico has seen a sharp rise in tech graduates and startups. Mexico shares multiple time zones with the US, making it a top destination for sourcing IT talent. Salesforce, Cisco and Stripe have all seen the appeal of investing in Mexico, due to its size and influence, particularly in the fintech space, as well as the ease of travel to and from the US and shared borders. With an array of talented front end and full stack developers, Mexico is cementing its reputation for specializing in Build Operate Transfer, Staff Augmentation, BPO, and Software Development.

Colombia

Colombia’s growing pool of tech talent, both through university graduates and regional draw, is boosted by the strong start-up scene, making the region an appealing place for young programmers wanting to join a driven community. With shared time zones with the East Coast of the USA, Colombia – especially Bogotá – is a great option for outsourcing software development. Medellin has even become an AI tech hub in the region, after Andrew Ng opened an AI lab there. Twilio, Oracle and Red Hat have all sought Software Developers, back-end and full stack developers from the region, while the government has also cultivated high-quality engineering talent through their Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation program.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica, with a population of just 5 million people, produces a significant level of highly skilled technologists thanks to its commitment to universal education and its high ranking universities. With salaries averaging at USD 4,100 a month, 4,000 tech graduates vying for roles per year, a stable government, high levels of tech investment, and great universities, Costa Rica is top of mind for many global organizations as their ideal choice for a tech hub. IBM, HP and Intel regularly seek Agile Software Developers based in Costa Rica, and as the region is in the CST time zone and can be reached within a few hours by plane, it makes it much simpler for organizations to travel.

With leading global organizations within fintech, IT and software establishing their roots across Latin America, it seems that LATAM’s market will only continue to expand further. From highly educated populations to cultural similarities and strong infrastructures, Latin American nations offer a broad mix of critical benefits that make this region a natural choice for business worldwide.