The document was also published by the Sorbonne University in France.
Now the Central American country attracts peace and tourism with bitcoin.
A recent study by Harvard University highlights the transformation that El Salvador is experiencing, as a country that was known as the “homicide capital of the world” to adopt a new role as the “Bitcoin capital of the world.”
The document titled: «El Salvador – Surfing from the red ocean to the blue? From the “homicide capital of the world” to a country of hope and prosperity”has been published since March in the Harvard University business catalog. It had gone unnoticed by the Salvadoran authorities, until President Nayib Bukele recently shared it.
“The transformation of El Salvador has now become a Harvard case study,” Bukele wrote in a tweet in which he received multiple positive messages because the strategy he applies in El Salvador has become a case study for academics from the most prestigious universities in the world. This taking into account that the research is also shared by business schoolassociate member of the Sorbonne University, in France.
Its authors are world-renowned professors Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, who are also the co-authors of bestsellers such as Blue Ocean Shift and Blue Ocean Strategy. In them, they analyze and compare the successes and failures of “blue ocean” projects around the world.
Across a variety of sectors, from business-to-customer and business-to-business, to public, nonprofits, and governments, Kim and Mauborgne developed a concise understanding of the process of creating and growing new markets that unleashes people’s creativity, as much as your confidence to act. A phenomenon they call blue ocean in which they now include El Salvador and the strategy implemented by Bukele to get the Central American country out of the Red Sea in which it was trapped.
In their document, Kim and Mauborgne highlight how Bukele, who took office as president in 2019, set out to shake the negative image of El Salvador, historically tormented by gang violence and stagnant economic growth. Supported the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender in 2021and with this it seeks not only to improve the economy, but also to change the narrative about the country in the international context.
The report details a notable increase in tourism, foreign direct investment and Gross Domestic Product, along with improvements in citizens’ profits and well-being. These measures have even allowed a phenomenon of reverse migration, where Salvadorans who had left the country have begun to return attracted by new opportunities.
In itself, the Harvard analysis reveals that the strategy applied by Bukele is not only relevant for companies, but can be an effective model for nation-states. El Salvador’s transformation illustrates how, by adopting strategic logic and differentiated actions, it is possible to escape an adverse environment and achieve sustainable growth.
Bitcoin on the crest of the wave of El Salvador’s transformation
The fact that El Salvador resonates as a case study for Harvard University academics was also highlighted by Stacy Herbert, director of the El Salvador National Bitcoin Office.
Herbert shared on the social network phrase taken from the study from Harvard: “the second central element of the El Salvador’s strategic change is to go from a country without technology to a Bitcoin pioneer.
By emphasizing this perspective, Herbert illustrates how the Central American country has managed to transform itself from a nation with few technological advances in the digital sphere to an emerging leader for its vision on Bitcoin. This transition reflects a change in the country’s technological infrastructure, and also positions El Salvador as a living laboratory to evaluate the economic and social impact of the adoption of digital currency in national policies.
On the other hand, the mention of Harvard points out the relevance of the Salvadoran case in the discussion about the future of digital finance and the opportunities they represent for developing economies.
Starting this year, 2024, when Bukele began a new mandate at the head of El Salvador, his government is betting on the country’s economic growth. And to achieve this goal They have several tools at hand, among which bitcoin stands out.
The president of the Central Reserve Bank, Douglas Rodríguez, has said that “the economic dynamics of the country are greatly influenced by the improvement of citizen security, as well as the holding of international events and the application of policies that attract private investment and a lot tourism”. Precisely two of the activities in which bitcoin has great relevance.
