Starting a business anywhere is a daunting and endeavor to undertake, but if have a unique idea and the hutzpah to make it happen, Peru may be just the place, and now the perfect time to see your vision through. I did it and so can you.
Entrepreneurial Opportunities: As you might imagine, building and growing a successful company in a developing country such as Peru does feature its own unique difficulties; but with these often-unforeseen challenges come a multitude of opportunities and often much lower real barriers to entry in terms of government regulations, efficient competition and initial capital requirements. For instance in Peru, with just a few thousand dollars, aspiring foreign entrepreneurs here on a simple tourist visa can obtain a special right to sign contracts and with this form a legal entity and obtain residency by then hiring themselves as General Manager. (By comparison, you can do that in the U.S. as well, but with a minimum investment of $500,000).
Strong Economy: Why Peru specifically? Complementing the vast array of entrepreneurial opportunities is an economy enjoying the strongest growth in Latin America. According to Focus Economics, Peru boasted GDP growth of 4.4% in 2016 and roughly, the same number has been forecast for 2017. This compares to the 1.6% GDP growth forecast average for all other Latin American economies studied. In this region, Peru is the place to be.
Politically Stable: Economics and politics go hand in hand and in a time when stable is not the first word to come to mind when one thinks of the political situation in several of today’s “first world” countries, I don’t believe it has ever been more the case in Peru than it is today. With a new leader determined to eradicate the systematic corruption that has plagued Peru since time immemorial, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, has brought a palpable, new optimism to the small and medium sized business community and so it seems, to Peru overall. Highly experienced in business with a resume that includes a long career on Wall Street, PPK, as he is affectionately called, has a resume that also includes being First Minister (the second most powerful position in Peru after the President), cabinet minister of Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines and Ministry of Economics and Finance, top-level manager of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru, and he has additionally held positions with the IMF and the World Bank. In my opinion there is no person on earth more qualified at this moment to lead Peru in the right direction, and I am proud to say that as a dual citizen, (having become a naturalized Peruvian in 2015) that my vote was counted in last year’s presidential election towards his victory. I feel honored to have recently met PPK in person at a luncheon to which I was invited; this most certainly would not have happened “back home.”
I moved to Peru from the US, just over 4 years ago and my professional background in real estate, coupled with my personal experience of relocating to a new country , I saw a need for a provider more in tune with the needs and expectations of expats. I also saw that there was a need for a provider that gave a higher level of customer service for all clients, Peruvian and foreign alike. Live in Lima Relocation and Real Estate Services is the result of my vision. What’s yours?
Author (on right) meeting PPK at a palace reception.
Written by Tim Brace, founder and general manager of Live in Lima, an expat owned, full service, relocation and real estate services company, based in Lima Peru. www.LiveinLima.com.
https://multilingua.idiomasperu.com
