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Can an American own a business in South America?

What are the things that keeps non-Latin American entrepreneurs and business people doubtful about starting business in Latin America?

  • Currently there's a big crisis in the States and Europe. That's why Latin America it's a great alternative to start new business. Besides the language barrier (let's say all latinamerican people understand English), what keeps you undecided about going to LATAM and start a new business?

  • Answer:

    While legislation varies from country to country, bureaucracy is common to most of the region and tends to put foreigners off. Foreigners tend to be aware of the fact that creating and running a business in Latin America involves more red tape. Some also know or soon find out how difficult it can be for an 'outsider' to understand the ins and outs of local administrative procedures. Besides, getting a visa isn't always easy. Depending on the country we're talking about, fears of political and economic instability can also be a serious concern - as well as personal safety.

Anna Heim at Quora Visit the source

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The things we see are nervousness regarding repatriation of capital (i.e. can I get my money back), interference by local government (i.e. asking for bribes or special favors), and lack of knowledge about the Latin American market (i.e. many businesses don't know there is a market for their product). On these three points mentioned above, I would say that a little education on local laws should dispel the fears of repatriation of capital, and we rarely, if ever, have to seriously deal with bribery issues, unless the foreign investor thinks this is the only way to do business (it's not). I think the most important issue is the lack of knowledge regarding the opportunities in the market. I would add that Anna's points are generally correct about the amount of red tape, local procedures, visa issues, and economic instability, but every company we have talked to about these issues generally sees them as a cost of doing business, not a barrier to entry.

Quinn Smith

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