JALASOFT S.R.L.

—

What it is

Jalasoft is a software development company based in Bolivia that provides nearshore engineering services, specialising in custom software development, quality assurance, and DevOps. The core business is renting out dedicated engineering teams to US and European clients — these teams sit in Bolivia but work in the client’s time zone, speaking the client’s language, inside the client’s development cycle.

Its charter covers the production, development, export and sale of software in both domestic and international markets, alongside IT services, software development and management for Bolivian and foreign companies. The company focuses primarily on software development — particularly cloud platforms — and export to foreign companies, backed by long-term contracts and agreements that underpin its revenue streams.

Jalasoft is part of Jala Group, whose new strategic challenge is the professional training of its future human resources through a university based abroad. Jorge López founded the Grupo JALA umbrella, which encompasses Jalasoft, Fundación Jala, and Industrias Jala.

—

Who owns it

Jalasoft was born in June 2001 in Cochabamba, founded by engineer Jorge López La Fuente, who had studied in the United States and worked at Adobe Systems; on his return to Cochabamba he selected the best systems engineers, forming his first team of six people in rented offices. López remains the controlling owner; the exact ownership percentage is not disclosed in available public sources.

Jalasoft — described as Bolivia’s largest software company — opened itself to external private investment by placing bonds worth USD 9 million on the stock exchange. It is registered with the ASFI securities regulator (code ASFI/DSVSC-EM-JSF-003/2019) and listed on the BBV, but it has issued only bonds, not shares — meaning public investors are creditors, not co-owners.

—

Who runs it

Jorge López is the CEO and founder. Before founding Jalasoft, he spent nine years at Adobe Systems in Silicon Valley — playing a role in products including Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop — and was a co-founder of AppManager at NetIQ, now among the world’s largest IT data-centre management platforms.

CFO and board chair names are not disclosed in available public sources.

López started his career at Adobe when it had roughly 100 employees, later joining NetIQ as one of its first 15 staff; after nearly 13 years building data-centre management platforms, his conviction that talent could come from anywhere led him back to Bolivia, where he founded Jalasoft.

—

The money, in plain words

Jalasoft does not publish standalone audited revenue or profit in boliviano terms in any freely accessible filing; the figures below come from the PCR credit rating report (financial statements to 30 September 2023). The company grew its revenues at a compound annual rate of 7.35% between 2018 and 2022, but in the twelve months to September 2023 revenues fell 10.75% year-on-year as software export volumes declined, and operating profit (EBITDA) contracted 49.27% over the same period.

At September 2023, the company recorded lower operating revenues alongside higher staff costs and financial expenses, which compressed both profitability and debt-coverage metrics. Return on equity — how much profit owners earned for every boliviano they left in the company — was 1.51% for the twelve months to September 2023, and return on assets was 0.57%; both are thin, reflecting a year of transition rather than structural weakness.

The balance sheet, however, remained well-structured: the ratio of total liabilities to equity was 1.63 times, and the current ratio — the cushion of short-term assets over short-term debts — stood at a very healthy 5.97 times, meaning the company held nearly six bolivianos of liquid assets for every boliviano of near-term obligation. The bonds carry a risk rating of A1, defined as good capacity to repay principal and interest on time, though susceptible to slight deterioration if market or company conditions change.

—

What it is doing now

Most recently, Jalasoft launched Jala Ignite, a blockchain-powered HR platform aimed at transforming how companies manage their people and processes. A parallel social initiative — JaqueMate — is expanding access to technology education in Bolivian high schools.

Jalasoft’s talent pipeline now runs through Jala University, where only 2% of applicants are accepted; graduates enter the company ready to deploy immediately, with a commitment to remain for four years. Graduates from Jala University are expected to join the workforce from 2027, supplemented by graduates from Universidad Salesiana from 2024, with multi-year retention agreements designed to cut the staff turnover that compressed 2023 margins.

—

What to watch

• Export revenue recovery. The 10.75% revenue drop and near-50% EBITDA contraction in 2023 were driven by lower software exports; whether the company has rebuilt those client billings in 2024–2025 is the single most important financial question — and it remains unanswered in public disclosures.
• Staff costs versus headcount. The key competitive challenge in Bolivia’s software sector is retaining the skilled workforce needed to meet international export standards. If the Jala University pipeline delivers as planned, unit labour costs should ease; if it slips, margins stay squeezed.
• Bond refinancing. Jalasoft has run multiple bond series (I through IV) through the BBV. Proceeds are earmarked for working capital, investment, and debt refinancing. Watching whether Series V follows — and at what coupon — will reveal how bond investors assess the recovery.
• Jala Ignite traction. The new blockchain HR platform is a bet on product revenue to complement service revenue; early adoption metrics are not yet public.
• Bolivia’s dollar shortage. Bolivia has faced a constrained supply of US dollars since 2023; because Jalasoft invoices US clients in USD, it is naturally hedged on the income side — but any tightening of dollar repatriation rules would bite.

—

This is news, not investment advice.