When we conducted a comprehensive study of Mexico's IT market, we saw that it is relatively small compared to markets in other countries, and HR-tech in the country does not stand out as a prominent industry. The local startups startups are mostly focused on FinTech and E-commerce. According to our data, Mexico has not changed its attitude towards Russian startups after the well-known events of last year.

The main problem of the local market is its dependence on the USA, which leads to an outflow of more or less notable companies and specialists from the country to that region.
Nevertheless, the number of IT professionals in Mexico is growing. Mostly, it is due to those who have been pumped through education and/or work in U.S. companies. The growing demand for remote working has also contributed to this, and some local professionals can now work out of the country without having to relocate. So digital solutions to adapt, improve training, productivity and employee engagement during the transition to remote work have been gaining popularity.

But Mexico's local market is unlikely to be a big consumer of HR-tech. Perhaps the technology in this segment could be of interest at the level of large companies opening offices in Mexico and hiring a large staff, but there is a danger that they may already have their own HR system in place.

Although the HR industry in India is growing rapidly and there are interesting HR tools in the local market, there are some gaps that open up new opportunities for innovation.

India has a large talent pool, but the recruitment process is still costly and time-consuming. HR solutions aimed at streamlining and automating the hiring process, including scoring and AI-based assessment tools, can help companies find and hire the right talent more efficiently. Given India's regionally diverse population, there is a need for HR technologies that help companies create a more inclusive and diverse workplace. And with the rapid pace of technological change and digital transformation, there is a need for tools that help employees expand their skill sets and achieve individual, team, and corporate goals.

The HR technology market in India is expected to show strong growth as more and more companies recognize the value of HR solutions. And we can expect an explosion of investment and innovation in this area in the future.

The HR technology market in India is still young, so it has growth prospects. The next 10 years will be crucial for the industry. Right now, I think the most popular categories of HR solutions on the local market are talent acquisition and candidate management systems. In the future, the market leaders will be projects that offer non-standard, user-oriented solutions. I also see prospects in such areas as referral programs, process automation, new tools for recruiting and sourcing.

In the next 3 years, the local HR market is expected to be ~$5 billion. Such areas as performance management and EVP (Employer Value Proposition) will actively grow. Today, solutions in these categories are particularly lacking in the market. But Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS), which help companies manage and automate basic HR processes such as employee data storage, benefits management, timekeeping, and payroll, are very popular.

One of the main challenges that concern all verticals in general and HR in particular is data sparseness. The penetration of technology can vary from one island to another. This has a big impact on the HR industry, because it is important to create a connection between talent and employers, and for this to happen both parties must at minimum find out about each other. In Indonesia, most often there is no digitized data about the company or about a potential employee, and there is no federal database of resumes. At this point, the market is very fragmented: recruiters in Jakarta may not be able to find people in Bali or Sulawesi.

My impression is that the vast majority of Indonesionas are still looking for work through people they know. But there are some HR companies — most often these are headhunting agencies with their own database and they have various monetization models, for example access by subscription and a percentage earned for each person who acquires work.

In addition to structuring and accumulating data, processes need to be automated. This is a hot topic that will definitely be taking off in the coming years. Indonesia is a country with a lot of paper bureaucracy. There they don’t have a labor code like the one in the Russian Federation, and the arrangement between the company and the employee is regulated by a few laws and the internal documents of the company. I think that full-fledged HR platforms are needed there that can manage employees and the corresponding paperwork: accumulated vacation days, end of year bonuses, social payments and contributions, medical insurance, and overtime.

The second niche that I would pay attention to is the management of freelancers or offshore employees. Today, many people don’t work in the city or even in the country in which they are physically located, and this is a global trend. There are several complex issues that need to be addressed here. First off, it is the hiring process, onboarding such employees, paperwork and reporting to local regulatory authorities, and in some cases visa issues. Secondly, there is the fintech component: cross-border salary payments and early wage access. I think that this area will be actively explored by HR teams around the world and, of course, in Indonesia. For investing, this is also a reliable B2B business.

The last segment that I have long believed in is services that help build a career track. Currently there are many applicant tracking systems, but the world is already ready for career tracking systems. Since talent has become more mobile, and work has become more often remote, I expect there will be services that will build a career path for a certain talent, show possible development paths in different countries, propose the best companies, and assist with motivation letters and resumes.

The MENA region is quite fertile ground for the development of HR projects. More and more companies in this segment are appearing on the market, and they are already actively raiding. But I would like to see even more profile talent on the market. You don't need to come up with complex solutions, you can adapt to the local environment and implement practices that already exist in other markets. Also, the region lacks profile investors - the more the ecosystem acquires external money, the faster internal initiatives develop.

One of the important tasks of the local HR market is the automation of processes to simplify and improve the work of companies. This is now receiving special attention, and the potential is seen in this.

With the advent of Web 3.0 and related technologies, companies will become more innovative in recruiting and tracking employee contributions. I can also highlight the use of artificial intelligence-related technologies in the HR segment. We see such solutions in the local market, and we have them in our portfolio as well. It is important to understand that this region is characterized by a huge turnover, including medium-skilled personnel. Therefore, solutions that ease the pain for companies in this area, and even with the application of new technologies, is exactly the story the market needs.

Separately, I would like to mention the strongly pronounced trend of building a green culture in companies. Now a lot of attention in the region is paid to the development and support of women's entrepreneurial activity. The involvement of more women in entrepreneurship on par with men can become another incentive for the development of the region.