The Export Promotion Agency works to strengthen and enhance trade promotion tools through different programs that drive the internationalization of Cordobese small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Among its services, it offers assistance to SMEs that participate in events which are not part of ProCórdoba's official calendar. Baquero Translation is one of those firms. Over the years, it has participated in different national and international events with the support provided by the Agency through its Specific Assistance Program for Companies.
And now, Baquero Translations has successfully gained a strong position in the international market and it was recently ranked among the largest translation services exporter by CSA Research, the renowned American consulting company. This company conducts an annual research to study the performance of language services providers and prepares a ranking of the top firms in each region. This year, Baquero Translation made the Top 10 and is ranked amongst the largest Language Service Providers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Director Juan Baquero talked about his experience working with ProCórdoba Agency:
The key to participating in the programs, events and activities offered by the Agency lies in doing so systematically. You don't close a new client the moment you attend an event; there are no immediate results. Being present, establishing contacts, is very important. That's why we set ourselves the goal of participating in 4 to 5 events a year, selling our services, to become visible. Having done this, we were able to set aside a budget for investing on sales. The help we get from ProCórdoba is very important and allows us to participate in more events each year."
Baquero explained,
Ours is a true industry and it must be acknowledged as such. We started participating in the programs offered by ProCórdoba, daring to seize opportunities, and it's been very helpful. In my case, I have received assistance from different programs since 2016, usually for attending exhibitions or conferences for the translation industry."
After focusing on the internationalization of its services, the company's billing figures have risen exponentially during the last four years, nearing an interannual growth of 30%. It is worth noting that the translation industry is very strong in Argentina and is made up of highly-skilled professionals; in fact, four other language services providers have made CSA Research's Top 10 together with Baquero Translations.
You get in the game and, fortunately, you're not alone. Our companies were established by linguists or translators without any training in business. With the help of ProCórdoba we have become strong and cemented our position in the market. My suggestion for other companies is to approach ProCórdoba Agency and find out about the programs it offers, which are flexible and adjustable to the needs of SMEs."
Regarding expectations for the future of the company, new challenges lie ahead. At present, the main market for Baquero and other Argentine companies is similar but larger firms, based in the US, Europe or Asia. It is not easy to sell directly to the big companies that request translation services (Microsoft, IBM, Facebook, etc.) because they have very high demands. That is why we usually sell our services to other language service companies that outsource work. Now, the focus is bypassing the ‘middlemen':
We started pushing our limits, in part thanks to ProCórdoba, and now we want to get to the end client. We will probably not reach these large multinationals, but I believe we can get to smaller clients that will allow us to generate a more direct work flow and establish a relationship with the end-client," concluded Baquero.
ProCórdoba Agency therefore offers assistance to these companies helping them search for opportunities and preparing our province's export offer for global demands.
For more information about our programs and services, visit www.procordoba.org
