Americas Economy & Business Inclusive Growth Latin America Technology & Innovation Trade

Report

June 5, 2023

Enhancing market size, scalability, and regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean

By Pepe Zhang

DOWNLOAD PDF

This is the 1st installment of the Unlocking Economic Development in Latin America and the Caribbean report, which explores five vital opportunities for the private sector to drive socioeconomic progress in LAC, with sixteen corresponding recommendations private firms can consider as they take steps to support the region.

How does the private sector perceive Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)? What opportunities do firms find most exciting? And what precisely can companies do to seize on these opportunities and support the region’s journey toward recovery and sustainable development? To answer these questions, the Atlantic Council collaborated with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to glean insights from its robust network of private-sector partners. Through surveys and in-depth interviews, this report identified five vital opportunities for the private sector to drive socioeconomic progress in LAC, with sixteen corresponding recommendations private firms can consider as they take steps to support the region.

Enhancing market size, scalability, and regional integration

Latin America and the Caribbean’s market size and scalability make it an attractive environment for businesses, but the public and private sectors have an opportunity to strengthen its appeal further through deeper regional integration. Private-sector leadership and participation will be crucial for efficiently improving hard and soft infrastructure for trade, energy, and other forms of integration. Together with public sector efforts, these improvements will help pull more nearshoring and reshoring investment to the region.

Recommendations for the private sector

The private sector, in coordination with the public sector, has a key role to play in scaling regional potential and furthering regional integration in trade, climate, digitalization, and other areas. Three promising opportunities for private sector action in this space include:

  1. Financing and managing hard infrastructure: Competitive construction, services, and other firms can help boost the cost and operational efficiencies of physical infrastructure underpinning LAC integration (achieved through intraregional trade, energy, etc.)
  2. Improving “soft” infrastructure: Private-sector expertise and actions can inform and spur regulatory modernization and harmonization in LAC and internationally, which helps attract investment conducive to regional integration.
  3. Prioritizing nearshoring and reshoring efforts: Firms across a wide range of sector may contribute to, and benefit from, better integrated regional supply chains and subsequent export gains.

About the author

Staff

Pepe Zhang

Senior Fellow

Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center

China Coronavirus

Related content

Enhancing market size, scalability, and regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean

Report Jun 16, 2023

Accelerating digitalization and innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean

By Pepe Zhang

To sustain the ongoing recovery against short-term headwinds and boost inclusive, productive, and sustainable development in the long term, governments cannot, and should not, act alone. The private sector can improve infrastructure, foster skills, and promote adoption to help the region transform its digital potential into development gains.
Americas Economy & Business
Enhancing market size, scalability, and regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean

Report Jun 20, 2023

Improving state governance, institutional capacity, and transparency

By Pepe Zhang

To sustain the ongoing recovery against short-term headwinds and boost inclusive, productive, and sustainable development in the long term, governments cannot, and should not, act alone. Technological, governance, and other cooperation between the public and private sectors can enhance institutional capacity, integrity, government service delivery, and regulatory quality in LAC.
Americas Inclusive Growth
Enhancing market size, scalability, and regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean

Report Jun 22, 2023

Addressing multidimensional inequality

By Pepe Zhang

To sustain the ongoing recovery against short-term headwinds and boost inclusive, productive, and sustainable development in the long term, governments cannot, and should not, act alone. Private-sector actions to reduce gender inequality, like level the playing field between SMEs and large firms and narrow the urban-rural divide, can enable a more inclusive economy for LAC.
Americas Inclusive Growth
Enhancing market size, scalability, and regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean

Report Jun 26, 2023

Meaningfully advancing the green agenda

By Pepe Zhang

To sustain the ongoing recovery against short-term headwinds and boost inclusive, productive, and sustainable development in the long term, governments cannot, and should not, act alone. Private firms can help advance the green agenda by working to create green jobs, taking measures to promote a transition to a circular-economy model, and partaking in green finance.
Americas Climate Change & Climate Action
Online Event Thu, February 17, 2022 • 9:00 am ET

#ProactiveLAC: A digital future for regional prosperity

A virtual conversation on the role of public-private partnerships and policy actions in increasing digital connectivity across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Coronavirus Digital Policy Inclusive Growth Latin America

The Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center broadens understanding of regional transformations and delivers constructive, results-oriented solutions to inform how the public and private sectors can advance hemispheric prosperity.

Learn more
Americas Economy & Business Inclusive Growth Latin America Technology & Innovation Trade

Image: Loaded ships in busy port of Antwerp at container terminal with automated cranes and lots of vessels. Belgium