3. “…if the people are not trained
and are not receiving the right
kind of training, then we have to
go elsewhere — either elsewhere
in the United States or elsewhere
in the world — because at the
end of the day, we have to find
the people.”
Business Lexington's interview
with Tom Blodgett,
ACS
10. Quality of Life
Risk Profile
Infrastructure
Business Catalyst
Cost
Scale and Quality
Honduras - San Pedro Sula - Altia Business Park
Location Assessment Framework
11. 1. Scale and Quality
Labor Pool Skills Availability Cultural affinity Graduate Output
Skills and Scalability
12. English skills…bilingual schools
are the source…
Statistics:
Honduras, 410 bilingual schools
Several associations:
• Asociacion de Escuelas
Bilingues de Honduras
• AASCA -
• Asociacion Noroccidental de
Escuelas Privadas Bilingues
• Part of SACS (Southern
Association of Colleges and
Schools)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_schools_in_Honduras
14. Important Data
• argest English speaking population in Central America, 410 bilingual
L
schools (Approximately 75,000-85,000 bilingual people in the country).
Each year this number grows by 7,000 high school graduates.
• We have more than 12,000 college graduates per year just in San
Pedro Sula from 9 main universities. Currently there are almost 82,000
students enrolled in universities.
• afe & Cost-Competitive Near Shore Location: Honduras offers the
S
most cost competitive solution in the nearshore area in a safe, stable
environment
• ositive Business Environment: Solid legal framework for investment
P
ensure the safety and continuity of business relations.
15. Important Data
• Cultural affinity – more than 100 years with presence of U.S.
companies successfully operating in Honduran territory
• Accent - even our accent and knowledge of what is happening
in the U.S. are key factors
• ame time zone – U.S. Central Time, just 2 hrs away from
S
Miami
• Access to Hispanic market – “Se habla Español”
• Sufficient critical mass – sustained growth rates on the English
speaking population and last years job fair are evidence of this
• ultinational carriers presence (Milicom – Navega, Multidata,
M
Digicel (Irish),Telecorp, Cablecolor, Telcel (Mexican – Claro)
16. What can we expect from Honduras?
• onduras will become the new hot spot for BPO and
H
contact centers due to several factors:
– World financial crisis will keep on putting pressure for companies for
outsourcing services, and Latin America/Central America is a perfect
nearshore location
– Competitive labor costs will create an increasing interest in opening
an operation in Honduras
– U.S. Hispanic market will keep on boosting bilingual services
– Honduras is able to supply the necessary labor pool, which will
provide sustainability to the industry...
17. But specially, because of our human
capital...
• Hondurans have a deep desire to learn,
we have an unbreakable determination to
overcome difficulties...
• We are outspoken, cheerful and with a
high work ethic...
• We envision a better Honduras: we are
not only dreamers but we also make
things happen!
• We are a humble country that
passionately believes in peace and
democracy!
• We believe that Honduras is a land of
opportunities...
18. 2. Cost
Cost of Operations Cost of Training Cost of Real Estate Cost of Bandwidth Cost of Living
& Energy
Savings
19. Decision Matrix comparing Offshore
Locations
CRITERIA
PHILLIPINES INDIA CANADA IRELAND PANAMA BRAZIL HONDURAS
AVERAGE AGENT
SALARY PER YEAR
(US $)
4,000-6,000 3,500-5,000 25,000-40,000 25,000-40,000 6,500-8,500 7,500-10,000 4,000-6,000
REAL ESTATE COST
(RENT PER SQUARE
METER)
26.00 18.00 35.00 38.00 26-28 40.00 18.00
REAL ESTATE COST
(RENT PER SQUARE
FT/YR)
29.00 20.07 39.03 42.38 31.23 44.61 20.07
REAL ESTATE COST
(BUYOUT PER
SQUARE METER)
3,000 2,000 3,800 4,000 3000-3500 4,000-4,500 1,800
TELECOMMUNICATI
ON (E1)
1,000 - 1,400 1,100 - 1,500 650 - 800 1,300 - 1,700 1,200 - 1,500 1,000 - 1,500 900 - 1,200
Sources: AT Kearney report, information from Honduras collected by Ruben Sorto
20. We need to compare operating costs in
Offshore/Nearshore locations...
• In our financial and feasibility
models we must include:
• Direct salaries
• Management costs
• Support staff salaries
• Training
• Real estate
• Technology and communication
23. Some conclusions...
• Obviously, the outsourcing business has grown in Central America, but it
has experienced a slow down during the last 4-5 years, not only related
to the world economical-financial crisis but to other factors as well, such
as labor availability.
• This slow down is linked to a market saturation, specially in the mature
markets (Costa Rica and Panama) and labor shortage in developing
markets (Guatemala and El Salvador)
• In a region of about 45 M people (from Guatemala to Panama), the only
country still unexplored is Honduras.
• Each country is living a different stage in this industry; we may
experience a “second wave” of growth via unexplored markets
• The “returning” diaspora each country has is also a driving force for
growth
24. Stages of Development of Contact Center
and BPO in Central America
Under Developed
New entrants
development
Labor Pool Location Maturity
Availability
Honduras
Costa Rica
% of Savings Potential
in Operating Costs
Panama
Guatemala
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Honduras
Nicaragua
Guatemala Costa Rica
El Salvador Panama
Sources: Model developed by Ruben Sorto using Thalons framework and report on “Outsourcing Cities”
25. Important Data
• ltia Business Park will become the most modern
A
technology and business park in the region:
• Energy redundant – Energy efficient: we have designed the park as
energy self sufficient, but also interconnected to the national grid. We
have designed all the buildings aimed to obtain the LEED certification.
This will be translated to a cost competitive advantage on the
power bill (20-30% lower than standard consumption)
• Connectivity redundancy – high quality, cost effective telecommunication
• World class environment – we can deliver turn key office space based
on your requirements and needs
• World class security
• Fully 24/7/365 operational capability
26. 3. Business Catalyst
Government Benefits Competitive Landscape Untapped Labor Currently
Incentives Pool Employed
Business Environment
28. Important Data
• 0% of business visitors to Honduras arrive through San Pedro
7
Sula’s airport
• an Pedro Sula is the motor of the Honduran economy,
S
generating more than 60% of the national GDP
• an Pedro Sula has become a vibrant economic and industrial
S
city (1.1 M people) with 9 main universities (total population of
82,000 students) and 70 bilingual schools in the urban area and
161 in Cortes, and a total of 410 in Honduras
• an Pedro Sula has daily/direct flights to New York, Atlanta,
S
Houston, Miami and connected to Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Mexico, Central and South America
32. Important Data
• ltia Business Park is based as a free zone, which means you
A
are exempt of any local or national tax.
• ompetitive real estate cost
C
• e have in place a network of strategic partners and alliances to
W
help you reduce your curve of experience costs and your time to
have running an operation
• ny BPO or contact center will have at their service a
A
multidisciplinary team aimed to help you have a successful
operation: human resource, engineering, logistics, etc
33. Altia Business Park - Strategic Geographic
Location (public transportation routes)
25 minutes, moderate traffic
35. Democratic Elections since 1980
Porfirio Lobo was elected for the 2010-2014
2010 term
Manuel Zelaya was elected for the 2006-’10,
but due to his violation of the Constitution, he 2006
was removed from office. Roberto Micheletti
finished the term Ricardo Maduro was elected for President for
2002 the 2002-’06 term
Carlos Flores elected for the 1998-2002 term 1998
Carlos Roberto Reina elected for the 1994-’98
1994 term
Rafael Callejas elected for the 1990-’94 term 1990
1986
36. Important Data
• Honduras has recently designed a Nation Plan for the next
30 yrs. This was elaborated by leaders, academics,
businessmen, social institutions and represents the vision of
a better Honduras
• On November ’09, we elected a new government and
President Lobo has established as his priority to execute the
Nation Plan
• Altia Business Park spearheads the new and modern
Honduras, focussed on developing a service industry based
on our competitive advantages
37. Natural Risks
• Honduras suffered the
strike of a major
earthquake in 1998 by
Hurricane Mitch; since
then, the country has
heavily invested in
designing infrastructure
that can withstand this
type of natural disasters,
such as channel and river
flow control systems.
• Honduras is hit by a
major hurricane every
25-30 years
38. 6. Quality of Life
Social Infrastructure like
Non work culture Availability of Recreation/
Education institutions, hospitals
Leisure facilities
41. Value Proposition of Honduras
• Honduras offers the largest bilingual labor pool in
Central America, as well as a college and technical
graduate young population
• Our country offers a strategic geographic position
• Honduras offers the most competitive costs in labor,
telecommunication, real estate
• Honduras offers the most complete incentive package
for investment, including permanent tax exemption
• Honduras is a country where the rule of law prevails
42. Value Proposition of San Pedro Sula
• San Pedro Sula offers an adequate business
environment and a history of success for companies
that have made it their base of operations
• The city has become a hub for business, as well as a
tourism destiny: amazing Mayan ruins, beautiful
beaches just 30 mins away, great lifestyle and natural
sightseeing
• San Pedro Sula offers the advantages of a
cosmopolita city, with a slow pace of a small town.
This is the perfect place to live and work!
43. Value Proposition of Altia
Business Park
• Altia Business Park offers a full package: complete
infrastructure at a competitive cost
• Altia Business Park offers a strategic partnership
• We offer a business model that is based in
engineering and systems considering sustainable
practices - we strive to obtain the LEED certification in
all our buildings
• We are a team that envisions to create value to your
operations, we strive to exceed your expectations!
44. Ruben Dario Sorto
Corporate Marketing and New Projects Director
Altia Business Park
www.altiabusinesspark.com
ruben.sorto@altiabusinesspark.com
(504) 580-2015/16
