Se habla Español: How Greater Phoenix opens its doors to Mexican companies
Published: 03/13/2018
Updated: 02/28/2022
By Ruth Soberanes, Director of Trade & Investment
The Greater Phoenix region is leading the nation in innovation in the Internet of Things (IoT) and companies from around the world are taking notice. Latin American companies – specifically from Mexico, Arizona’s largest commercial partner – are among the global companies increasingly looking to the Phoenix market to scale their business.
Mexican legacy brands such as Grupo Mexico (Asarco, LLC in its U.S. entity), CEMEX, and Bimbo Bakeries USA employ nearly 3,500+ workers in the Greater Phoenix region, but it’s not only Mexican mining, cement and food product companies that are targeting Phoenix. Arizona is increasingly becoming a gateway for technology companies and investment from Mexico. For example, Mesa-based startup Urbix Resources, LLC recently landed a $1.25 million investment from Mexican angel investors to continue the exploration of ways natural graphite is refined and commercialized.
Greater Phoenix provides these companies and investors with access to an expansive consumer market and a large and competitive workforce, while maintaining one of most competitive costs of operations in the United States.
Startups from Mexico participate in Techstars Startup Week PHX as part of joint effort by GPEC, INCMty, and the PHX Startup Week organizing committee.
Furthermore, Phoenix is just a 3-hour drive from the U.S. – Mexico border and shares close historical and cultural ties with Mexico. This connectivity and affinity has only been growing in the past few years as leaders across the state, beginning with Governor Doug Ducey, are taking active steps to build the state’s relationship with Mexico.
The Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) recently embarked on a strategic partnership with the Tecnologico de Monterrey (“el Tec”) to recruit and assist Mexican startups in their U.S. expansion. Last November, GPEC led a delegation to Monterrey, Mexico to participate in Latin America’s largest entrepreneurial festival, INCMty. Additionally, in partnership with el Tec and INCMty, GPEC hosted five Mexican startups at Techstars Startup Week PHX that were selected from a pool of 40 applicants last month. And, just this week, the team traveled to the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas to support the CASA Mexico initiative, led by ProMéxico, INADEM and the Tecnologico de Monterrey, showcasing Mexican innovators.
In an effort to offer a risk-minimizing, soft-landing approach for international companies looking to scale in the United States, GPEC, in partnership with Arizona State University, launched the Global Growth Accelerator. The goal of this accelerator is to help technology-focused, global companies by working with them to customize their expansion plan and offering them complimentary office space at the state-of-the-art innovation center, ASU SkySong.
The Greater Phoenix region offers a series of advantages for companies, entrepreneurs and investors from Mexico to grow and scale their business in the United States. With a pool of diverse talent and connectivity to resources, the ecosystem is ripe for more companies. Learn how you can join our thriving ecosystem (se habla Español).