3 Compelling Reasons to Target Latin America for Subscription Expansion Opportunities

As we journey through the year, a strategic shift is underway among subscription leaders. Unlike the past years, which focused on cost savings and survival, the current emphasis is on efficient growth. According to the 2024 State of Subscriptions & Revenue Growth report, retention, expansion, and renewals are the top subscriber growth priorities.

Expanding into developing regions with large, underserved markets can be a huge win for businesses in developed economies like the US and Europe. If you are eyeing an expansion, Latin America (LatAm) stands out as a compelling choice, and here’s why:

1. Rapid digitization

According to the World Bank’s Global Findex, 74% of adults in the region owned financial accounts in 2021, compared to just 39% in 2011. This means more than 100 million people were included in the financial system within ten years. This is a crucial step towards digitization and the adoption of digital payments.

From a heavily cash-based transaction model, the Latin American market has transitioned to boast a 78% digital commerce penetration rate. These advancements in terms of financial inclusion and digital commerce help your business grow faster.

2. Access to a thriving consumer base

Projections from the World Data Lab (WDL) suggest that five key Latin American countries—Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and Colombia—are expected to welcome 32 million new consumers by 2030, exceeding the combined figures of Europe, Canada, and the US. This vast consumer pool presents a massive business growth and expansion opportunity. 

Latin America’s growing familiarity with subscription-based services is another favorable indicator for businesses. Currently, the region has over 100 million SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) subscriptions. Projections indicate that by 2029, this figure will increase to 165 million subscriptions, signaling the region’s appetite for subscription-based products and services. 

Having a big Total Addressable Market (TAM) that is already primed for the subscription business model offers a great headstart for your Go-to-market efforts. You don’t have to sell them the premise and benefits of subscriptions or recurring purchases—you can focus that time on educating them about your products and services.

3. Flourishing tech sector & openness to global players

In line with the global surge in Venture Capital (VC) funding, Latin America’s tech sector witnessed a boom, with investments reaching almost $15 billion in 2021 alone. The region is also home to a growing number of ‘unicorn’ companies valued at over $1 billion, generating demand for ancillary products and services.

In just the past two years, the region’s cross-border digital commerce transactions have doubled. This clearly shows the consumers’ openness to innovative solutions from global players.

B2B recurring payments landscape in LatAm

Despite significant strides in digitization, navigating Latin America’s B2B payments landscape is complicated. Transactions often involve multiple intermediaries and can take up to 14 days to confirm the payment, resulting in low visibility for businesses.

As your business scales and expands into the Latin American market, relying on manual invoicing and payment methods can create significant process inefficiencies. We recommend exploring solutions to simplify your payment process and increase operational efficiency.

SA International (SAi), the US-based design-to-production software, saw a massive opportunity in the Brazilian market and consulted us to streamline its billing and payment workflows.

“In regions where international credit cards are not as common, providing payment gateways and methods that enable our customers to pay in their local currencies is crucial,”

-Rick Marden, SAi’s CFO.

SAi achieved this through Chargebee’s payment gateway integrations, which helped it accelerate its market expansion in Brazil and India.  

Discover how Chargebee can streamline your payments from Latin American customers.