July 26, 2020
Almost 30 years ago, El Salvador began to emerge from a long civil war that devastated the country. Today, a focus on the future has turned the nation into a rising software outsourcing destination – with developing technologies, innovation and an entrepreneurial community ready to help solve the country’s youth unemployment problem
At Accelerance, it’s our mission to discover untapped, high-value custom software development resources around the world, and we were in El Salvador to meet our first certified partner there.
El Salvador is a vibrant hub in the heart of Central America, and its capital city San Salvador (“Holy Savior”) is the center of financial, social, educational and cultural growth. We caught an overnight flight from Mexico and emerged into a wave of heat and humidity – a welcome relief from a lingering, cold Carolina winter.
“I fell asleep on the plane and when I woke up, we were in San Salvador,” says Kayla. “I loved being in El Salvador; it was absolutely stunning.”
The software development team we’d come to bring onboard as an Accelerance partner are a large, fast-growing company producing work of excellent quality, with a focus on lab and mobile development. Their senior executives all have degrees from US universities and work experience in large American-based corporations.
El Salvador has a good pool of well-educated technical talent, thanks to initiatives targeting the country’s large youth population. Certainly, San Salvador has no shortage of IT talent; 14 of the 15 most popular universities in the country are located here. And because it’s a Latin American country, US and UK business standards are considered the norm.
Software outsourcing companies ensure their employees focus on web and mobile app development, Analytics, Blockchain and Database technology. This creates a versatile workforce ready to work with any client, a drawcard that attracted the likes of Dell and Sykes here in the mid-2000s.
Sitting 15 spots above the United States on the 2019 Global Peace Index, El Salvador has a high-profile history of gang violence, but the impact is minimal on the business community and general population, including international travelers. Our partner host drove us everywhere and we never felt unsafe, but there are no-go zones for tourists.
Between doing business, we managed to squeeze in a bit of sightseeing, including a tour of a world-class airline maintenance repair and overhaul facility served by one of our partners. Just as memorable was eating at La Pampa El Volcan, a restaurant built on the slopes of San Salvador’s (no longer active) volcano, with amazing views across the city.
The real highlight, though, was driving an hour or so to the coast, where we stayed the night at an awesome beach house that looked out on infinite ocean – a special treat our software development partner often puts on for its clients. From the house, we walked down to swim in a saltwater pool, which was constantly refreshing by waves splashing into the hillside.
Outsource with Confidence with Accelerance
Accelerance travels the world to simplify your search for the best offshore and nearshore companies – we were extremely impressed with what El Salvador has to offer. If you’re interested in outsourcing your software development, contact Accelerance to find out more.
For the latest analysis on outsourcing opportunities throughout Latin America, check out our 2022 regional guide.