Sponsored by City of Buenos Aires
Rapidly turning into a lively and exciting tech hub with a hunger for entrepreneurship, you may not immediately consider Buenos Aires as one of the most obvious cities in the world for tech startups.
However, since 2008, over 30,000 entrepreneurs have been given support, with a further 10,000 jobs created thanks to incubator and accelerator services financed by the Buenos Aires City Government and public-private investment schemes, according to the City of Buenos Aires tourism department.
Porteños consider entrepreneurship a great career choice
With almost 60 percent of Argentines aged 18-64 considering entrepreneurship as a great career choice, and more than a quarter intending to start up their own business, Porteños (Buenos Aires locals) have already begun creating their own ventures, turning the city of Buenos Aires into a thriving entrepreneurial community.
Universities help build the foundations for tech-savvy talent
Providing the cornerstone and nurturing some of the city’s best young talent for future tech startups, Buenos Aires’ abundance of distinguished universities have been accredited with stimulating the city’s entrepreneurial spirit. The Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITDBA) offers an entrepreneurship course with around half of the students enrolled already planning to launch their own innovative startups.
Startups can be hard work, but they aren’t impossible
In 2017, the Macri administration passed a new Ley de Emprendedores (Entrepreneur’s Law) making the initial startup process for entrepreneurships far simpler, with access to interest-free loans and other funding opportunities to help businesses grow.
An entrepreneurial program called IncuBAte was set up by the Buenos Aires City Government to help educate and fund startups in the city. Aimed at commercial, social, technological and high-impact entrepreneurs who want to either start, or strengthen their existing startup, incuBAte can provide assistance, access to investors, government resources, as well as funding and co-working space to help boost businesses, including:
- Design
- Social
- Technology
- Science
- Tourism
- Gastronomy
- Environment
- Media
- Agro-Technology
- Audiovisual
Academy BA is another scheme rolled out by the government which offers free entrepreneurial education. The course is entirely free. For more information about Academy BA, click here.
Location, location, location
The cost of living in Buenos Aires is also a big attraction for young entrepreneurs looking to make their mark in the business ecosystem. Rent is significantly cheaper in the Argentinian capital, and although other aspects can be more expensive, the experience of a new culture and lifestyle can definitely be considered worth it.
What’s more, is that Buenos Aires is fantastically located for global business; in the heart of Latin America, travel to and from other main cities in the continent is easy, not to mention the daily non-stop flights to and from the US. And despite its 8,500km distance to New York City, and 11,100km distance to London, the time difference is no more than four hours, making it Buenos Aires a very desirable location to do business, not just in Argentina or Latin America, but the rest of the world too.
Get started
Since the introduction of government led organizations such as incuBAte, Buenos Aires’ startup ecosystem is proving to be a healthy success, with entrepreneurs and citizens alike also beginning to reap the benefits of job creation, innovation, and economic growth.
If you’re wanting to find out more information about studying, living and working in the dynamic and enthusiastic capital, click here.
