Professional and personal fulfilment in progressive Mexico

Mexico is culturally a beautiful country, and with over 125 million people the diversity as well as the potential is vast. The big cities have a multi-faceted profile, with a growing middle-class who are digitally savvy and open to testing new technologies and solutions. The sheer size of the market means that start-ups and scale-ups, as well as more established companies, can identify and target segments within the market and still reach more potential customers than the Nordics combined.

The culture in Mexico City is modern and progressive; however, perceptions are often outdated and inaccurate; it isn’t a country that many Swedish people are familiar with from a business perspective, or even from a tourist experience so it can be a shock to find out how liberal, inclusive, and fast paced it really is.

Mexico is a flourishing country, and you can see a real hunger in people to improve both their personal economic and professional situations as well as the country’s overall progression. A lot of young people run their own small businesses on the side, improvements to infrastructure are high on the priority list, and areas like FinTech and sustainability are also emerging as areas of growth, driven by policies at the state level and investment and innovation from the private sector. There is a real passion and ambition from the up and coming middle-class who seek out and adapt to new technologies which means Swedish companies can get huge contracts that they could barely get in Sweden – but they don’t look to Mexico when expanding their FinTech or AI business.

This is what is super exciting about Mexico, professionally I can cross over different sectors, work with companies of all sizes, and demonstrate to both Swedish and Mexican companies that they are a great fit for mutually beneficial growth.

On the flip side in this progressive and modern country, there is still a huge emphasis on building traditional relationships. This hasn’t changed and it really defines how business is done. Over the past year and a half when global travel has been restricted, it has really shown how important those local connections and supplier partnerships are, not only to keep businesses running, but to maintain that personal relationship that is super important in Mexico’s business landscape.

The lessons learnt during the pandemic have also meant the shift away from global supply chains has been accelerated, and this is having a profound impact on the growth in Mexico. With the US actively re-shoring and near shoring production, Mexico is in a prime position regionally to connect both North America and Central and Latin America.

There is already a strong MedTech R&D hub with advanced development and treatment centres, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Manufacturing and factories also represent a big part of the business economy here – and that is only set to grow with the US moving production away from China and other parts of Asia.

This is a dynamic time to be in Mexico as the country beings to plays an increasingly important role as a supplier to its most immediate neighbours – for me, and my team, we know we can make an impact on so many different levels to bring Swedish companies to Mexico and to ramp up growth for those that are already here.

While the possibilities are endless, it is still a challenge to convince Swedish companies to look beyond European borders – but with the high uptake of digitalisation and a thirst for creative and innovation solutions, Swedish companies can find a natural home here in Mexico. The near-shoring trend should not be underestimated by Swedish companies, and we are seeing increasingly numbers of companies turning to us to get support to relocate to Mexico or to increase their footprint here.

One of the prospects that excites me the most is the increased awareness and action being taken with sustainability. Sweden’s reputation as a sustainability leader certainly has power in the market, perhaps not at a political level, but certainly at a commercial level. Our team are working hard to promote and connect the sustainability aspect of Swedish companies which can meet the demand from customers, industry, and the market generally.

Mexico is not without its challenges and it would be foolish to ignore the inequality that exists here. Differences between rural and urban areas are distinct and there is much more of a focus on the global trend of sustainability in the bigger cities. You can feel and see that global trend influencing the cities when you are on the streets.

This also extends to gender equality and equity. One notable campaign is tackling the taboo and stigma around menstruation – this action is radical in many ways. I think for Swedish people and Swedish companies, they should be looking at Mexico with open eyes, and see what it can offer as a modern and dynamic market that is pushing boundaries in both business and social arenas.

Progressive views and laws around same-sex relations and openness to homosexuality are far beyond what many might think, particularly when the misconceptions might be that Mexico is a religious country (it is), but there is also an openness that doesn’t seem to be bound by certain traditional beliefs. The mix of the old and new is bringing the best of both sides, tolerance and openness as well as a focus on building those human relationships which mean so much.

The business hierarchy in Mexico is still very much top down. The manager makes the decision and down the chain everyone else complies. Pushing the decision-making process down the chain is not acceptable which also means that responsibility and accountability is also stuck at the top. Sweden is well known for flat hierarchies in the workplace, and I think this would really benefit Mexico in many ways. If people within organisations are given the scope to make decisions, they can make mistakes and learn from them. It empowers everyone to perform better. But the workforce here is very adaptable, if there is a problem or something happens last minute, they can quickly change pace and fix it, compared to in Sweden where we like to plan, plan, plan, and then execute. So, there could be a bit of learning from both sides.

On a personal level, I always miss Swedish liquorice. It is something that always miss and when I am home it is always in the house. But I try and go cold turkey when I am abroad, that way I enjoy it even more at home. The other thing I would pack in my suitcase is my mum and dad – of course when you live abroad you miss your parents.