Rio Revuelto Ganancia de Pescadores
by Alice Arandia, Business Development Consultant
I heard this Spanish saying for the first time during a recent meeting with a company in Colombia.
It translates as; "rough waters reward those who are fishing”
We were talking about the challenges of promoting the abundance of opportunities in the LATAM region while also mitigating the risks. This is something I think about a lot.
With all the doom and gloom, we hear at the moment it’s easy to focus on the negatives, to want to take cover and wait to hopefully ride out the storm of uncertainty. But it’s at these time that opportunities are also born. During tough times, it is often those with true strength and perseverance that thrive.
It can be worrying to read the headlines of mass cuts in big tech firms but think about what the incredible pool of talent will do now, what new businesses will be born from the difficult position they are in.
Obviously, some services are very area specific, however many can be expanded, out with an existing market. Perhaps you need to seek opportunities in another area to find the work, but there is usually work to be found.
Take Latin America as an example. The region is home to some of the highest levels of entrepreneurial attributes. According to a survey carried out by Ipsos in late 2020, a staggering 61 percent of respondents in Colombia were categorized as having a "very high" entrepreneurial spirit. Latinos will proactively seek new opportunities to make money, whether its selling cold drinks to tired passengers on a long bus journey or opening a global franchise to bring new products to their city, they have their eyes open to the potentials of business.
The media in the UK is very good at scaring us, at highlighting the rising costs, unemployment numbers, and uncertainty in the market but there is little focus on the opportunities out there, ways of increasing our incomes and finding those rewards in “rough waters’.
There is good news out there though. Yesterday I was really encouraged to hear some excellent speakers at a summit in London organised by LATAM Investor. They spoke about the urgency and challenges of energy transition and the public and private investment required over next 30 years. The general message though was one of opportunities especially for clean oil, renewables, copper and lithium sectors. All these are widely available in Latin America, driving a lot of optimism for the region.
It was good too, to hear Eduardo Bozo, originally from Bolivia, and Director of Actis Capital, a Global Investment firm in London, note that LATAM region is a core focus market for Actis. He also highlighted the fact that Latin America has one of the longest track records of private sector participation in energy markets globally.
In Aberdeen, Scotland we often hear concerns about the future of the oil and gas industry, but this sector has a fundamental role to play in energy transition. I think there is a need for companies to be more transparent, to improve their communication of steps that are being taken to improve efficiency, reduce emissions and promote energy innovation; but I am also excited to see the opportunities that emerge in Aberdeen in the next few years.
We have certainly had plenty of rough waters to look at with the amount of rain we have had in recent weeks in Aberdeen area. So now when I see rough waters, instead of just seeing the damage it might do, I will also be reminded of this saying, and remember to always look for opportunities, even in uncertain times.
At Finch Global we work with companies to identify, evaluate and pursue opportunities in existing and new markets. Contact us if you are interested in looking for new opportunities – initial meeting is totally free, and there is no pressure to take up any of our services if you aren’t interested – though obviously we would love to work with you if you are.
