Raising education standards vital for business sustainability in Latin America, says Economist Intelligence Unit

If Latin American companies are to prosper, education standards across the region need to rise—and companies themselves have a role to play in making that happen. That is the key message of a new report, In search of business sustainability: Latin American education and the role of the private sector, published today by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by FedEx Express Latin America & Caribbean Division. Latin American economies are lagging behind many other parts of the world and there is a growing realisation that poor education is a major reason for this. A survey conducted by the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2006, for example, found that over 50% of Mexican 15-year-olds and 60% of Brazilian 15-year-olds are functionally illiterate.

Responding to the challenge, there appears to be a new willingness by Latin American business leaders to become involved with state education, not out of charity, but because they see it as important to the sustainability of their business. If Mexicans cannot compete with overseas rivals for technologically sophisticated jobs, then they are destined to become the “manual labourers of the future”, ran the headline of an article commenting on the PISA results in El Financiero, a leading Mexican newspaper. As a result, incorporating support for education into a broader business strategy is now of major concern to businesses around the region. To improve educational outcomes, some industrialists are forming partnerships with the public sector. Others are creating groups to lobby the government.

Guatemala’s Sergio Paiz Foundation exemplifies the public-private partnership model through its Tecnología para Educar (Technology to Educate) initiative. Formed in 2006 by participants including the Foundation, Guatemala’s Ministry of Education and Wal-Mart Central America, its objective is to bring computers to all of Guatemala’s 17,000 state schools. Using refurbished machines donated by Wal-Mart and local banks, in its first year Tecnología para Educar has delivered more than 4,000 computers to 300 schools.

In Mexico, four businessmen started Mexicanos Primero (Mexicans First) with the objective of improving the quality of basic education in Mexico and ensuring that Mexican children stay in school for longer. In addition to exerting behind-the-scenes pressure, every year the group organises a major publicity campaign using the media. They run full-page advertisements in national newspapers, addressed to the minister of education and the head of the teachers’ union. They buy spots on national television to let people know how Mexican children performed on PISA (the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment) or other international benchmarks. “It’s a very powerful way of informing the public,” says Lucrecia Santibáñez, professor, Centre for Economic Research & Teaching (CIDE). “There’s a lot more to be done, but they are making some headway.”

“Around Latin America, interesting initiatives are under way” says Kim Andreasson, senior editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit and editor of the report. “But most are in their early stages and business leaders now realise that they must do more”

No matter what the approach, one thing is clear: as companies face growing competition from overseas, they can no longer ignore the fact that increasing their involvement and investment in state education is vital for their long-term health.

In search of business sustainability:
Latin American education and the role of the private sector
is available free of charge at www.eiu.com/sponsor/FedEx/LatinAmericanEducation/

Press enquiries
Joanne McKenna, Press Liaison, +44 (0)20 7576 8188; joannemckenna@eiu.com
Kim Andreasson, Senior Editor, +1 212 641 9882; kimandreasson@eiu.com

Note for editors
In search of business sustainability: Latin American education and the role of the private sector is an Economist Intelligence Unit briefing paper sponsored by FedEx. The report is based on in-depth interviews, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit in 2008, with a range of influential experts who are closely involved with education in Latin America.

About the Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit is the world leader in global business intelligence. It is the business–to–business arm of The Economist Group, which publishes The Economist newspaper. As the world's leading provider of country intelligence, the Economist Intelligence Unit helps executives make better business decisions by providing timely, reliable and impartial analysis on worldwide market trends and business strategies. More information about the Economist Intelligence Unit can be found at www.eiu.com.

About FedEx
FedEx is actively involved in the 220 countries and territories where the company operates, giving back to the community through sustainability initiatives, corporate philanthropy, donated delivery services and employee volunteerism. In addition to its focus on education, core giving areas for FedEx include health and human services, emergency and disaster relief and pedestrian and child services. The company leverages its core business competencies to support national and international NGOs including Junior Achievement Worldwide, Safe Kids Worldwide, Red Cross International, Heart to Heart, ORBIS International and others.