Doing business with Latin America: An introduction to Brazil, Mexico, Chile and other exciting markets

By Gabriela Castro-Fontoura

Latin America is much more than football and beaches. A continent of 600 million people enjoying a period of strong economic growth is now attracting worldwide attention for its amazing opportunities. But are UK small businesses making the most of these opportunities? If not, what is stopping them?
Gabriela Castro-Fontoura, a native Latin America with wide experience in the UK, shares in a simple and friendly manner, what every UK SME needs to know about doing business with Latin America - the geography and the people of a fascinating continent; the exciting range of opportunities, as well as honestly exposing the barriers and how to handle them.
From business etiquette to import barriers, from currency issues to multilingual ecommerce, Gabriela explores the wealth of information out there, interviewing key business owners and experts, and translating this into a thoroughly researched yet very user-friendly book, with British efficiency and Latin American charm!
A small business owner herself, Gabriela knows how to talk to her audience - and inspire them to a journey full of possibilities.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harriman House
• Release date: Mar 4, 2013
• ISBN: 9781908003553

Gabriela Castro-Fontoura

Gabriela Castro-Fontoura was born in Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay, in South America. From a very young age, Gabriela was fascinated by other cultures. After achieving the top score in the International Baccalaureate Diploma, she was offered a rare scholarship to study Economics at the University of Durham in the UK. That was the start of a long love affair with Britain - living in England, Scotland and Wales for over 13 years. After 10 years of working as a consultant, Gabriela set up her own business - Sunny Sky Solutions - with the aim of acting as a bridge between businesses in the UK and her native Latin America. Through Sunny Sky Solutions, Gabriela has supported businesses at all stages of expanding into Latin America. From those that hadn't even considered it to those that had done some research to those that were already present in the continent. As a process expert, Gabriela has supported businesses in various sectors such as energy, food and drink, and nursery products, being a strong supporter of British manufacturing and a great believer in the potential of British SMEs to export their goods and services. Her services have been used not only by UK businesses but also by those from other countries such as Spain and Australia. A prolific communicator, Gabriela has presented on doing business in Latin America at various events such as those organised by local Chambers of Commerce across the UK, UKTI, the Institute of Export, and StartUp Britain. She is often requested to write for trade press, such as Global Trader Magazine and Lloyds Loading List, and contributes regularly to popular business blogs. Her twitter feed has now a loyal following who not only keep up-to-date with news and developments but also benefit from a forum to exchange views and experience, and connect with other experts and businesses. As a native Latin American, Gabriela always emphasises the importance of win-win in international trade. She has great belief in the potential of Latin America to grow sustainably, and insists on working only with those businesses that have something to offer that will improve the quality of life of her fellow Latin Americans. Exciting times for Gabriela, too, since in January 2013 she relocated back to Montevideo, after 13 years in the UK, with the aim of supporting British businesses from within the continent. As her expertise and contacts develop from her strategic South American base, Gabriela will continue to share with us news, advice, tips and anecdotes from this wonderfully rich continent.

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Publishing details

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HARRIMAN HOUSE LTD

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Petersfield

Hampshire

GU32 2EW

GREAT BRITAIN

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Website: www.harriman-house.com

First published in Great Britain in 2012

Copyright © Harriman House Ltd

The right of Gabriela Castro-Fontoura to be identified as the author has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.

ISBN: 978-1-908003-55-3

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library.

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publisher. This book may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without the prior written consent of the Publisher.

No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person or corporate body acting or refraining to act as a result of reading material in this book can be accepted by the Publisher, by the Author, or by the employer of the Author.

About the author

Gabriela Castro-Fontoura was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. From a very young age, Gabriela was fascinated by other cultures. After achieving the top score in the International Baccalaureate Diploma, she was offered a rare scholarship to study Economics at the University of Durham in the UK. That was the start of a long love affair with Britain – living in England, Scotland and Wales for over 13 years. After ten years of working as a consultant, Gabriela set up her own business – Sunny Sky Solutions – with the aim of acting as a bridge between businesses in the UK and her native Latin America.

Gabriela is a strong supporter of British manufacturing and a great believer in the potential of British SMEs to export their goods and services. Through Sunny Sky Solutions, Gabriela has supported businesses at all stages of their expansion into Latin America. From those that hadn’t even considered it, to those that had done some research, to those that were already present in the region. As a market entry expert, she has supported businesses in various sectors such as energy, food and drink, and nursery products. Her services have been used not only by UK businesses but also by those from other countries such as Spain and Australia.

A prolific communicator, Gabriela has presented on doing business in Latin America at various events such as those organised by local Chambers of Commerce across the UK, UKTI (UK Trade & Investment), the Institute of Export, and StartUp Britain. She is often requested to write for trade press, such as Global Trader magazine and Lloyds Loading List, and contributes regularly to popular business blogs. Her Twitter feed has a loyal following who are able to keep up to date with news and developments, and also benefit from a forum to exchange views and experience, and connect with other experts and businesses.

As a native Latin American, Gabriela always emphasises the importance of win-win in international trade. She has great belief in the potential of Latin America to grow sustainably, and insists on working only with those businesses that offer something to improve the quality of life of her fellow Latin Americans.

These are exciting times for Gabriela, since in January 2013 she relocated back to Montevideo, after 13 years in the UK, with the aim of supporting British businesses from within the region. As her expertise and contacts develop from her strategic South American base, Gabriela will continue to share news, advice, tips and anecdotes from this fascinating and diverse region.

Preface

Who this book is for

This book is for all of those small and medium businesses that:

Hadn’t even thought about exporting to Latin America and would like find out a bit more.

Had thought about doing business in the region but were overwhelmed by the obstacles or confused about where to start.

Are already trading with Latin America, sometimes on an ad-hoc accidental or reactive basis, and would like to conduct their trade with the region in a more proactive way.

A conscious effort has been made to ensure that this book applies to both goods and services exports, so whether you are selling toys or environmental consultancy, this book is for you. Some sections, such as logistics, will clearly apply only to goods. Doing business with Latin America is not all just about selling to Latin America; it is also about Latin America selling to you and so there is also a look at importing from the region.

Although this book is particularly written with UK SMEs in mind, most of its content should equally apply to businesses elsewhere.

What this book covers

I will start by giving you an overview about exporting in general, as a framework for doing business with Latin America. I will then tell you more about Latin America, such as what the region looks like from a business perspective and why should you consider it now in terms of your own exports.

I often get asked to name the top ten sectors in which the UK can excel in exporting to Latin America. I personally find that this applies more to larger businesses – smaller businesses are likely to find a niche in almost every sector, so a ranking as such is likely to discourage smaller businesses. Therefore, my aim is to give you a broad idea of the range of opportunities, sometimes not just by sector but also by country or even by market entry channel (such as e-commerce).

A story is worth a thousand words, so honest case studies and testimonials from small businesses that have cracked these markets will be presented. I understand that small businesses will not have a dedicated export department devoted to Latin America, so I aim to show you how to best utilise your resources to maximise your opportunities. One of the ways to do this is to think laterally – I will give you some inspiration and tips to get you thinking in this way.

Exporting to Latin America is not easy. It takes time and it takes patience. Therefore, the next stage is to present you with the obstacles you are likely to encounter. I will give you some information to help you overcome these obstacles, but being aware of them is already a step towards success – it will reduce your risks and save you many headaches.

Honestly, Latin America is not for everyone. It might not be right for your business, at least not at this point in its development. What is important is to recognise this fact and understand why it is the case, but also to then be knowledgeable enough to spot when the opportunities do come and when the time is right. Sometimes not moving into an export market is the best decision you can make. What really matters is that the decision is taken not out of fear or due to lack of information, but based on knowledge and understanding. It is a matter of making informed decisions.

I then provide thoughts on how to plan a visit to Latin America, including the logistics of getting around a vast and varied region (there are no EasyJet services, sorry).

Finally, what comes after succeeding in doing business with Latin America? Sometimes, looking after your customers abroad is quickly forgotten (until sales drop). I will encourage you to think about what you can do to make the most