Mercado Libre harnesses Colombia's growth with new facilities

Latin American e-commerce firm Mercado Libre has inaugurated its new facilities in Colombia, which required investments of US$3mn.

The company decided to invest in a new office space in order to meet its objective of having 650 employees in Colombia by the end of 2018. The company also opened its fourth customer service center, with similar facilities already operating in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

Marcelino Herrera Vegas, general manager of Mercado Libre Colombia, explained that the company had been considering opening a new center to cater to Spanish-speaking clients in the region.

After a series of studies, the firm decided that Colombia was the best location due to its strategic location, human capital, and a thriving e-commerce industry. According to the country's chamber of electronic commerce, e-commerce currently accounts for 2.6% of Colombia's GDP.

According to CIO Latin America, Mercado Libre has 178mn unique visitors per month. Colombia holds fourth place in the number of unique visitors, with 13.2mn and Brazil provides the largest number of visitors with 65.2mn, followed by Mexico with 26.6mn and Argentina with 18.9mn.

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