Antigua Guatemala, by Brenda Larios.- During his opening speech at the first Forbes Forum in Spanish, President Alejandro Giammattei underscored that, in recent years, Guatemala has become a perfect investment destination.
“We have major competitive advantages. Currently, Guatemala is the perfect destination for investments, and I invite you to discover it”, said the president.
The president noted that his administration has promoted laws, strengthened human capital, and boosted Guatemala internationally.
Human Capital
The head of the Executive Branch added that Guatemala has a young, broad, and skilled human capital, with the highest demographic bonus in the region, where 59.5% of the total workforce is under 30 years.
The country has 15 universities that enroll more than 360 thousand students annually. The private university ranked number one in Central America, and Panama is a Guatemalan university: Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.
President Giammattei stated, “Every year, 200,000 young people enter the labor market. It means that there is a supply of human capital for the operations of multinational companies.”
He said that young people are part of the demographic bonus; they are being trained through bilingual programs and are the best introduction for the country.
The Guatemalan president also informed that there is a new route for entrepreneurs through the Digital Economy strategy that will allow them to develop an E-Commerce culture ideal for massively positioning their business brands.
Guatemala Moving Forward
During his speech, the president reported on the Guatemala Moving Forward strategy, including human capital training and investment attraction.
“Guatemala Moving Forward is built upon five main pillars and sets out a route to achieve the goal of creating 2.5 million quality jobs in the next ten years,” said the president.
The achievements of the first pillar include identifying strategic sectors with an established capacity and competitiveness.
More sophisticated industries such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, electronic devices, BPO, and contact centers have also been identified.
The second pillar, on human capital, seeks to strengthen the technical skills needed to attract new productive sectors to the country.
Meanwhile, regarding the third pillar –infrastructures- 52 projects have been prioritized to attract more foreign investment to Guatemala.
According to the president, “The fourth pillar involves strengthening the tourism sector in Guatemala, an ideal complement to the rest of the identified sectors. Cultural wealth is another of the engines of our economy.”
Furthermore, the president mentioned that the competitiveness and business climate agenda is included to provide legal certainty to investors who settle in the country.
President Giammattei Remarks, “Guatemala Is the Perfect Destination for Investment.”
