Why Latin America?

We recently had the #RicohSummit2024, our annual event that brings together leaders from companies across different sectors and the top technology solution brands in Latin America. At this gathering, we had the opportunity to discuss the current and future landscape of Latin America with clients, business partners, and expert economists.

The conversations, feedback, vision, and success stories shared during the event reaffirmed my belief in the enormous potential of this region. This aligns with the recent announcement from the Ricoh Group that, as of April this year, it operates in Latin America as Ricoh LATAM, one of the five major regions of the Ricoh Group alongside North America, Europe, Japan, and APAC.

I write this article to share with you that we continue to reaffirm our direct presence in the region, now as Ricoh LATAM—a company with 14 subsidiaries and over 2,000 indirect channels covering the entire Latin American territory. We are convinced that there are many opportunities here in Latin America to continue accelerating companies' digital adoption while positively impacting the communities where we operate.

I feel deep gratitude towards the team of more than 3,000 employees of #RicohLATAM, our business partners, alliance partners, and of course, our clients, who trust us every day and are directly responsible for the company's growth.

At the same time, I feel a great commitment to this region. I am Latin American, and I know the potential of its people, their solidarity, optimism, and drive to move forward. And while it's clear we still have a long way to go in our communities and, of course, in the business sector, the future of Latin America is always bright because of its talented human capital, young population, and natural resources.

Some other reasons...

From a business perspective, regional economic growth is stable, with expectations of continued inflation reduction. The perception of progress is also increasing, influencing investor confidence and capital injection. (Learn more about the socioeconomic outlook of Latin America in the podcast: Café con Ricoh)

The International Monetary Fund, for example, predicts that the regional GDP will expand by 2.3% in 2024, with growth expectations of 2.8% for 2025. Sectors like healthcare and education, financial services, and logistics continue to grow robustly, driving the economies of our countries.

But beyond the socioeconomic analysis we can make, two aspects stand out and were crucial in reaffirming our decision to grow in Latin America: our over 50-year track record with our clients in the region and the knowledge this has provided us in implementing solutions that accelerate their digital adoption.

We have a portfolio that fits the industry's challenges. We have validated that our value proposition aligns with the region's digital transformation needs. We develop solutions that improve the technological experience in workplaces and automate processes so companies can be more efficient.

We definitely know there is still much to do in Latin America in terms of social and economic development, as well as in digital adoption in the business world, and that's why we are here, and will remain here, because we are #RicohLATAM.

^{Source: INDESA (April 2024) Regional Economic Perspectives and Trends.}