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Edgar Villegas

COLOMBIA - Real Estate & Construction

Enkontrol’s clients in Colombia

General Manager - Latin America, Enkontrol

Bio

Edgar Villegas holds master’s degrees in business management and industrial engineering from ITESM Mexico, as well as a doctorate in strategic management from Anahuac University. His career spans over 20 years and includes leadership positions in Mexico for Consorcio Ara, International Business Solutions and Plexus, among others. He has been Enkontrol’s manager for Latin America since 2017.

TBY talks to Edgar Villegas, General Manager - Latin America of Enkontrol.

Enkontrol is undoubtedly a market leader in Mexico. How has that experience and leadership translated to its Colombian operations?
The first two years were difficult for us because we had to adapt to Colombia’s rules, laws, and culture. After that initial period, we worked hard to open up the Colombian market, and at present, we have some big names in our client portfolio.

Why do longstanding sector stalwarts choose Enkontrol in Colombia?
The biggest factor is our experience. In Mexico we run with maybe 80% of the big players in the market, not only in construction, but also in the infrastructure and real estate segments. Moreover, in the Mexican market we have 20 of the biggest companies as clients, so we are a big name in Mexico and Latin America. After the US, Indian, and Chinese markets, Mexico has the biggest housing development market. This is why the big players in Colombia pay attention to Enkontrol and its software.

What is the profile and mix of Enkontrol’s clients in Colombia?
The company has a large portfolio of clients in Colombia and features some of the biggest names in real estate and construction, including Acierto, Multiplika, Hycsa, and GA Cadena, as well as the financial sector, such as PEI, Accuro, Inverlink, and Sociedad Fondo de Inversion. Our portfolio in Colombia is wide, and 100% of our clients work with the construction industry in a variety of ways, such as infrastructure, housing, real estate, and so on.

How can ERP providers solve structural issues in Colombia?
Across Latin America, construction is a sector without technology and processes, so ERP can bring not just faster processing of operations and data to these clients, but also structured processes. We can really help all the big competitors in the sector without ERP offerings.

How is Colombia’s construction sector doing in terms of its digital transformation?
The construction sector in Colombia is slow to adopt new technologies. Most of the players are still thinking about technology as a cost rather than an investment, which makes it hard for us to change that perception.

How do you evaluate Colombia’s construction industry recovery during 2019?
It was obvious once the new government came in that the sector will reactivate activities and projects. However, so far it has been really slow for us; the YoY recovery is only around 5-10%.

What new opportunities does this represent for Enkontrol?
More international investment creates a big opportunity for us, particularly because a couple of international brands already know us elsewhere. For example, Grupo HYCSA is an infrastructure client in Medellí­n that was initially our client in Mexico.

What can we expect to see from Enkontrol in Colombia over the coming years?
We are fighting to become the principal competitor in the industry. We want to have the big names in our portfolio of clients. In two or three years we hope to see the Enkontrol brand being used by all the major players in the construction, infrastructure, and real estate industries in Colombia.

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