Another Business Idea for Entrepreneurs in Panama

I've updated my popular post on Business Ideas for Entrepreneurs in Panama (popular in terms of the number of people who have viewed it, though no one has commented yet - grr!).

There are now 28 business ideas, after I added the following to the list:

Same-Day and Next-Day Courier Service - It's true that Panamanians like to take their time with things. What's the hurry? But the number of North American & European expat communities along the Panama-Penonomé corridor is growing, and these folks might appreciate a reliable same-day or overnight courier service that could do any of the following:

• Pick up mail or packages in Panama city and deliver them to coastside communities.
• Deliver documents to lawyers or banks in the city.
• Buy requested items (or even do a full-fledged shopping trip) in Panama city and deliver.

With the rising price of gasoline, a day trip into the city to do any of these things is cost prohibitive. For me, living in El Valle de Antón, a round trip to the city in my 2003 Nissan Sentra costs $30 in gas. That's outrageous. The alternative is a long, tiring trip on the bus.

A courier service, on the other hand, could use fuel-efficient mopeds and small vehicles to keep costs low. After all, Chinese restaurants and pizza parlors in Panama already use mopeds for home delivery, as in the photo above. Why not do the same for documents and packages, like the Thai fellow in the photo at the top?

In addition, courier services combine several deliveries going in the same direction into one run, for the sake of both time and cost efficiency.