Zonamerica, the Uruguay-based expert in corporate environment design and office space is all set to begin its second corporate park in Cali, Colombia. The new campus, which will specialize in global services, is deemed to be new age and with a strong innovation and technology focus. The project, which is in its first stage, will become operational next August, when the first of its 18 buildings will become operational.
Currently, two buildings with a leasable area of more than 15,000 square meters are being constructed, which include a wide parking area and the construction of a second TIER IV Data Center in Colombia. In one of the buildings, Zonamerica will offer an option of work stations (fee with services included) in its Business Center, as well as offices starting from 100 square metres.
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Zonamerica’s aim of building this infrastructure is to ensure that clients are not limited to non-flexible leasing clauses, while growing their businesses. Apart from real estate, the location also offers storage and virtual desks from its private Cloud, IT security, rentable work stations, and co-location. In addition to this, it offers its clients support for getting qualified human resources through a robust data base, which is currently under construction.
“In Zonamerica we believe that attractive places to work help to retain talent and therefore improve the performance of companies,” the Zonamerica website says.
The Cali campus is the first free zone of this kind in Colombia, where operations from multiple business platforms, such as outsourcing (BPO, ITO, KPO, and Call Center), shared service centers, investigation and research centers, and e-commerce and digital marketing platforms, shall coexist.
Cali has recently been in the news as one of the cheapest cities to live in Latin America according to Forbes. Zonamerica’s choice could also be Cali because according to HSB Noticias, figures revealed by the Ministry of National Education say that about 64% of the students of higher education institutions in the Valle del Cauca graduated from outsourcing, KPO, BPO, and IT programs.
Also, 80% of students in the Valle del Cauca belong to Cali, reaffirming Cali’s labor generating significance for the global services sector. With a developed network of universities and qualified human labour, Cali contributes about 10% of the national GDP.
Figures show, that between 2001 and 2016, of 159,428 graduates, 73,600 chose business administration, 27,426 chose accounting, and 58,402 went for systems engineering, industrial engineering, electronic engineering, and electrical engineering. According to the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), 40% of Cali’s population is between 18 and 35 years old, thus offering work-ready human capital. This too reinforces Cali’s urban image in Colombia as the city with the potential for growth and opportunities with national and foreign companies.
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Cali’s location in the middle of five important time zones also helps it connect to large companies in the United States and Europe. In a bid to attract the best talent in Colombia, Zonamerica will receive resumes of aspiring candidates through their website. Interested applicants can register their information and upload their resumes through the official Zonamerica website.
“We are going to create a very attractive environment for young professionals who want to develop their skills in the middle of an ecosystem connected to the modern world, which stimulates the interaction, connectivity, fun, innovation and creativity that our clients require. Our free zone will be located in the heart of Cali’s knowledge district, surrounded by several universities, colleges and research centers that will transform it into the ideal place to work in Colombia,” HSB Noticias quoted Jaime Miller, CEO of Zonamerica.
The Ministry of Education says 30,000 students have completed their undergraduate and postgraduate programs in 2016, and Zonamerica can take advantage of their talent while providing them with the opportunity to work in a global set up.
