Business opportunity in Central America is very promising because of various reasons that this write-up will discuss. To begin with is that Central America makes a growing market for the exports of United States. These products are highly accepted and have close to forty million potential customers. For example in 2011 there was approximately $ 31 billion worth of goods exported to Central America (U.S. Commercial Service, 1).
Secondly Central America has not yet developed fully its domestic manufacturing capabilities. Due to this it depends on a high proportion of imports. About 50% of its imports come through the US (U.S. Commercial Service, 1). Another important point is that the dollar is accepted in the region thus makes business easier.
It is also important to consider communication. English is widely spoken in Central America. This is paramount as it will make understanding easier, lead to shared meaning and eliminate issues of language barrier.
Another item would be infrastructure. In order for a place to excel in business, it has to develop and make sure that it has outstanding means of transport. Central America has infrastructure development going on and this includes airports, roads and ports. This is being supported by the World Bank, IDB and CABEI, there are also foreign agencies fostering this development like USAID and MCC among others.
Central America also has strong ties with the US and it is committed towards security and development. Ensuring proper security will attract people and business as it will make them feel safe as they conduct their businesses or even as clients come to buy their products. Strong ties with the US means good business in the place as they have strong support from the US.
Free Trade Agreement with the US has benefits such as exports enter duty free, there are also low tariffs, there is equal access to services such as insurance and telecommunications and finally improved investment and business climate.
There are some similarities in international business between South Asia and Central America. For example both regions depend on grants and loans. South America suffers public debts and fiscal deficits while Central America is poor (Guasch, Suarez and Gonzales 6). Secondly, both regions aim at improving infrastructure. South American government is committed to improve the roads and railways in the urban areas to enhance business. On the other hand as discussed earlier Central America is being supported to improve roads, ports and airports to improve infrastructure in order to boost business.
It is also important to highlight some differences like South Asia is less globally integrated while Central America has strong ties with the US in order to access the global markets.
In terms of population, we would compare two countries in the two regions. In south Asia there is India which is the second most populous country with a population of approximately 1.2 billion people. In Central America this is also the same thing observed in El Salvador which is the smallest country in the region but most densely populated.
Finally the last thing to discuss in this write-up will be comparing the cultures and in the influence they have on business in the two regions. South Asia is mostly predominated by the Chinese Culture and the local culture. The Chinese culture enforces collectivism, rationality and self -reliance. Self -reliance is all about bringing independence. Due to the local culture there is a wide range of colonial experiences and religious traditions. There is also traditional humanism. Humanism would make business better as people will treat each other with hospitality.
In Central America there is emphasis on the importance of the family. In this case it is common in this region for people to hire family members or for family members to look for employment together. There is also low individuality which brings about harmony and good relationships. Another element is High Power Distance this is all about addressing people formally and social courtesies.
Works Cited
Guasch Jose, Suarez Liliana and Gonzales Veronica. Competitiveness in Central America; The Road to Sustained Growth and Poverty Reduction. Centre for Global Development. 2013. Pdf file.
U.S. Commercial Service. Opportunities in Central America Business Development Conference
& Trade Mission. 2013
