Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2010. Its assessment of Peru’s textile exports, tourism and possible renewable energy plans, and the remark about US companies ordering clothes from India “these days”, date from 2010.
When someone in Peru goes looking for business ideas, it’s because they’ve noticed that existing businesses aren’t very profitable. First of all, I should say that I’m writing this article in response to a request I received by email.
Clearly, businesses vary from one country to another. A business idea may come up in Spain that isn’t as profitable in Peru, and vice versa. What is clear is that, with new technologies, we can export and import innovative businesses to any country.
Peru has an industry it hasn’t exploited enough: the textile industry. You know how cheaply you buy clothes in your country compared with other countries. I’ve noticed that textile exports are minimal, even though the sector has huge potential for expansion and export.
These days, American companies order clothes by the ton from India, for reasons of price and quality. I’m sure that, simply through the savings on shipping costs, Peru could be very competitive in this sector.
Peru has tourism: it has beautiful places and wonderful people, but it hasn’t made the most of everything leisure and tourism could offer. At least in travel agencies in my country, it’s hard to find package tours to visit it, even though I know it’s full of beautiful places.
I sincerely believe it’s a country that can both contribute and take on great ways of doing business. From what I was able to observe, though, perhaps there needs to be a change in entrepreneurial mindset, like the one already under way in Spain.
I’d encourage you to look through our business ideas and some of our other articles, so you can draw your own conclusions about which businesses could work there, or which would be innovative and viable in your country.
Remember that, at the moment, every business needs to expand its market.
I don’t know exactly whether Peru was going to start building renewable energy farms, as other Central and South American countries are, but if so, now is a good time for the most enterprising among you to carve out a place in this business, which will be one of the businesses of the future.
Further reading
- The businesses of the future
- Renewable energy businesses
- Leisure and tourism business ideas
- How to start a business with no money
- Differences between Hispanic and American entrepreneurs
Featured image: McKay Savage, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
