Microsoft invests to develop local supply

TechSpark, a philanthropic division of the multinational technological company Microsoft, will expand operations to include Ciudad Juarez together with other American cities, to create jobs and improve the economic development in the Juarez-El Paso region.

The announcement was made by the president of Microsoft, Brad Smith. This expansion implies an investment of 1.5 million dollars in the program “The Bridge Accelerator,” a program fulfilled by Technology Hub (at the beginning of 2019,) which has as an objective to approach the maquila industry with the supply chain of Juarez-El Paso and train participating companies in competences to substitute the needs required by the maquila today. In an exclusive interview for Mexico Industry, representatives of Microsoft and the Technology Hum shared the details of this investment.

TechSpark: origins and objective

According to Omar Saucedo Macias, director of TechSpark in Ciudad Juarez, TechSpark is a civic program of Microsoft designed to promote digital skills, increase access to broadband and promote the regional economic development. Originally, this project started two years ago in the northern part of the United States, where Microsoft had its offices, Wisconsin, Washington, Virginia, and Wyoming, but until 2019 the program started operations in El Paso, Texas, due to the border city depends of economic matters like call centers, logistics or areas susceptible of automation.

When observing the economic dynamics weave Juarez and El Paso, Microsoft decided to expand operations to integrate Juarez, Chihuahua, transforming this city in the first point of TechSpark outside Mexico. The objective, however, of TechSpark is clear: increase regional supply for the maquila industry.

In the past, Microsoft, through TechSpark, has supported local supply by investing in the program “The Bridge Accelerator,” a pilot program designed and fulfilled by Technology Hub in 2019. This program had as an objective to approach regional suppliers with the maquila industry and improve their skills to face industry demands.

Due to the positive results, this time Microsoft will invest 1.5 million dollars in the program to fulfill this program six times, two per year, giving the opportunity of more local companies integrate into the industrial supply.

Local Supply: an opportunity to grow

For Omar Saucedo, the opportunity to develop supply for the maquila industry is, at the same time, a great challenge and opportunity. “While places like Monterrey have up to 80 % of local supply integrated to its industries, here in Juarez we only have 2 %,” he detailed.

The director of TechSpark Ciudad Juarez also underlined that there have been efforts to approach supply to the industry, as Expo MRO, national conventions of Index, among others. Even though, he considers there have to be more.

On the other hand, for Ricardo Mora, general director of the Technology Hub and one of the organizers of “The Bridge,” develop local supply is fundamental for the future of the region.

“If we do not take that change, manufacturing will go elsewhere, where it is cheaper or automated,” he explained.

Likewise, Ricardo Mora also underlined that the jobs created in Ciudad Juarez, affect in El Paso, therefore it is important to support the development of regional supply.

Supply and industry: three points to be improved

For Rodolfo “Rudy” Vazquez, linkage director with the Technology Hub industry, there are three main points to be worked to achieve positive results in the region. One of them is the openness of the industry. It is important, for the linkage director, for the industry to set on the table all their needs, in such manner, they open the opportunity to suppliers to satisfy their demands and requirements.

“Sometimes industry has only announced some of their needs, but not all,” he said.

Omar Saucedo said about this that the problem of why local supply does not grow is the lack of approach between companies and maquilas. In this sense, Saucedo underlined that “The Bridge” offers a safe space to fulfill those meetings.

The second point Rodolfo Vazquez pointed out was the subject of labor skills companies can acquire to face the challenges entailing being supplier of the maquila industry. In this sense, Omar Saucedo said that companies have to increase their technology capabilities to provide better solutions to the industry.

“Success factors of the industry in the previous era were productivity, quality, and cost. If you had a productive company you had good costs and quality, that was enough to be in the game and surely your company was successful, mainly for the quality, since this factor was the differentiator by which the customer paid more. But there have been other factors: speed, flexibility, and innovation. If you fulfill that, you are in the market. If you do not have it, it will get complicated even more because technology advances at major steps,” he detailed.

The last point Rodolfo Vazquez, link director with the industry of Technology Hub, detailed is the financing aspect for supplying companies.

Meanwhile, for Omar Saucedo, the aspect of improving technological skills is linked with financing, since sometimes companies do not have the equipment to fulfill the expensive industry requirements.

Even though, Saucedo considered that through programs like “The Bridge,” supported by places like the Center for Innovation and Integration of Advanced Technologies (CITA, by its Spanish initials) companies have a clearer opportunity to obtain financing. 

“As we limit actual opportunities with actual equipment and technologies capabilities, finance will be a challenge but there will be more clarity,” he detailed.

Likewise, Rudy Vazquez shared that it is important to have finance schemes to support projects. “Many projects do not remain in Juarez not because there is no capability, but because there is no financing support to run 4 or 5 million dollars operations. Those big projects do not remain in Juarez, only small ones stay,” he detailed.

In this sense, he detailed that Microsoft investment channeled to “The Bridge,” is seeking to touch and find a solution to these three points, in such manner that local supply increases.

“The main advantage of “The Bridge” compared with other programs is that a complete sense in all senses is given. Accompaniment is provided during the first negotiations with the industry,” Vazquez ended. 

More information

Microsoft investment: 1.5 million dollars

Course objective: increase regional supply (Juarez-El Paso)

Channeler: “The Bridge Accelerator” (Technology Hub)

Objective: to have 6 generations of companies participating in the program