With 2022 just around the corner, many companies are building out their recruitment strategies for the year ahead. One of the most important steps of the process is developing a sourcing strategy.
Finding talent, especially for technical roles, can be challenging. Recruiting internationally makes it less so. We’ve shortlisted six of our favorite talent hubs every company should consider when hiring in 2022.
1. India
If you’d like to find highly skilled tech talent, there’s a good chance you’ll find it in India, which is renowned for its English-speaking software engineers and programmers. Bengaluru in particular is considered to be the heart of India’s tech scene, and one of the startup capitals of the world, with 14 unicorns based in the city.
The Indian IT industry is projected to reach the $300-$350 billion revenue mark over the next five years—growing 10% a year. Digital services account for roughly 30% of the industry, but that’s expected to go up to 50% within five years.
The majority of tech talent that Localyze helps relocate comes from India, accounting for 23% of all cases. This is unsurprising considering the country is expected to have the world’s largest app developer base by 2024.
2. São Paulo
São Paulo is an excellent talent hub for hiring teams to consider. It is Brazil’s economic engine and also the location of Latin America’s most important research and innovation hub. Established tech companies like Google, Uber and Airbnb have their Brazilian headquarters in the city. Additionally, the largest startups in the country, such as real estate startup VivaReal, are based in São Paulo. The state also boasts some of the regions’ best universities, like the University of São Paulo, that consistently churn out qualified talent.
Brazil in general has the sixth largest IT market in the world, is first in IT investments in Latin America, and has over 500,000 software developers. Tech talent from Brazil accounts for 8% of all employee relocation cases at Localyze, second only to India. However, it's interesting to note that since the beginning of 2021 the total number of tech relocation cases from Brazil has increased by approximately 5.5x, while the total number of cases from India has increased by approximately 4.5x.
3. Pakistan
Pakistan is home to major industries including technology and telecommunications. Microsoft and 3M have offices in the capital city of Islamabad; the latter has its largest research and development facility outside of the US there.
Pakistan’s startup sector is doing quite well, having moved up the ladder to 75th position worldwide and 2nd in the South Asian region, as noted in the “Global Startups Ecosystem Index 2021” report released by StartupBlink. Additionally, venture capital funding in Pakistan increased by 97% in 2020, contributing to its growth as a tech hub.
“The amount of hidden talent you can source from Pakistan is unimaginable”, says Localyze Case Manager Humza Hussain. “There’s been a significant increase in tech education in the country and a lot of international software hubs have relocated there in recent years. Around 3.5% of all tech employee relocation cases at Localyze come from Pakistan.”
4. Toronto
Toronto, Canada’s largest city, is one of the fastest growing tech hubs in North America. It’s often referred to as Silicon Valley North. Since 2013, Toronto has added more tech jobs than any other place in North America.
The city is home to some of the world’s leading academic institutions, such as the University of Waterloo and University of Toronto. Both schools are known for producing promising engineers and developers.
Comparable tech talent in Toronto costs less than half that of San Francisco and about 50% less than either New York or Seattle.
“If I were a recruiter looking for international talent, one of the first places I’d look would be Toronto”, says Localyze Partnerships & Case Manager Annika Spilker. “There’s a huge pool of skilled and experienced tech workers there. And I’ve found, in Germany at least, that the process of getting a visa for Canadians goes quickly. This positively impacts one of the most important recruiting metrics: time-to-hire.”
5. Kenya
One of the most promising tech landscapes can be found in Kenya, also known as“Silicon Savannah”. In 2013 Eric Schmidt of Google declared, “Nairobi has emerged as a serious tech hub and may become the African leader in technology”.
According to a report by tech-investment platform Partech on Africa’s tech start-up sector, Kenya is outperformed only by Nigeria when it comes to equity funding from tech venture-capital firms.
And the establishment of Google and other major multinational tech corporation offices—including Microsoft, Intel, IBM and Cisco Systems—in the capital city only further endorses its status.
6. Dubai
Dubai has become a highly respected tech hub in recent years. The main industries in the city are cryptocurrency/blockchain, artificial intelligence, and aeronautics. In 2019, over 560 startups in the region were funded ($704M in funding), and had record exits. For example, Careem which was acquired by Uber for $3.1B. In 2020, startup investments doubled and exceeded $1B for the first time.
Currently, over 1,600 companies are operating in the Dubai Internet City, an information technology community, employing around 25,000 people. It is expected that the number of people working in the region's leading technology hub will increase by 15,000 to 40,000 by 2025.
The bottom line
There are several great talent hubs across the world. Those listed in this article only represent a fraction of them. By expanding your recruiting efforts internationally, you significantly increase the chances of finding the talent your company needs to succeed.
Want to find out how your company can easily source great talent from across the world? Schedule a meeting with us!
