The business world can be very unforgiving to a newcomer, and the hottest newcomer on the block these days is the MultiLatina.  But what is a MultiLatina, and where does it come from? In the past, the traditional hierarchy of where and how business is done has dictated the ebb and flow of international commerce. For years, there has been a clear geographic distinction between buyers, sellers, and producers. The stigma of being one, and not the other, has kept regional corporate dominance steady for the greater half of the past century. These days, that’s all changing, especially in Latin America.

In a region long stigmatized as wealthy in resources, but socially and economically unstable, some of the world’s strongest new companies have begun to emerge. They are profit-driven; they’re resource heavy, run on low operating costs, and are strategically poised to make their mark as leaders in the global business world. These companies are known as MultiLatina, and whether you know it or not, their rise to success has been in the works for years.

Defining the MultiLatina

The definition of a MultiLatina is a company or corporation that includes ownership acquired or controlled in a Latin American country that also operates other geographical regions, and has annual revenue of at least $500 million. In other words, a powerful global company domestically run and based out of Latin America. And while many of these MultiLatinas aren’t new, the rest of the world’s recognition of them is. This has a lot to do with politics, old business stereotypes, and the hyper-emergence of globalization in the past 20 years.

The impetus for this happened during the mid 90’s, when many Latin American countries de-regulated trade restrictions, allowing foreign companies to freely invest in their resources, and at a high profit margin. Seeing themselves as the proverbial “cookie jar” of the developed world, local companies needed to figure out a way to compete. If they were supplying the resources and labor, they needed a better return. The local market for Latin American products just wasn’t large enough, so they globalized.

Aggressively minded Latin business leaders began to work together in an effort to further deregulate the region, but this time with direct benefits to their continental neighbors, rather than foreign entities. Governmental pacts such as Mercosur and the Andean Common of Nations (CAN) allowed for better regional economic integration, and partnered with tax breaks and subsidies, helped birth the first wave of the MultiLatina.

Whats in store for the future?

While recognition of these companies may have been slow to start, their success in the past decade can’t be ignored. Corporations like Petrobras, Grupo Bimbo, American Movil, and Vale have produced both domestic and global profits that would rival any competitor, and they’ve done it their way. Having the resources to meet high demands, partnered with a less compartmentalized management style, and a much more fluid organizational structure, has been the recipe for success for the MultiLatinas. They also have an ideal geographic positioning, bridging the gap between Asian and European markets, while being directly accessible to both the Caribbean and the United States.

So what does the future hold for these Latin corporate juggernauts? Where will they fit in over the next 10, or even 20 years? The consensus in the business world is that if they can adapt to even further extend themselves into the global market, they will continue to grow. But with a unified-language workforce of around 500 million people, and seemingly limitless physical resources, all signs point to sustainability. Whether we acknowledge it or not, MultiLatinas are here to stay, and they have no plans on slowing down in the future.

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Andrew Jackson is a writer for Latin Target – a Database Services Company that ranks the Top 100 MultiLatinas, and is focused on giving in-depth insight and access to key executives within each of Latin America’s largest and most influential businesses.