Miami became the Colombia new business hub during September 8th – 9th as 100 Colombian IT companies met with their international clients and counterparts in 1,100 one-on-one business appointments. The 3th edition of the Colombian IT Business Matchmaking Forum organized by ProColombia, the country’s promotion government entity, resulted in the participation of 48 buyers from US, 18 from Canada, 15 from Mexico and one from Puerto Rico. The Forum also attracted venture capital investors from New York, Texas, and South Florida looking to generate investment partnerships and become more visible in the international playing field.
Colombia’s high quality developments and innovative projects have gained great popularity. From 2008 to 2016, the government is expecting a steady growth in sales from the industry reaching a 59% increase. As the third largest provider of IT services in Latin America, Colombia is rising to the top due to government incentives, a seamless free trade agreement platform, competitive free trade zone, proximity and connectivity to North America, personalized service, and a skilled workforce of more than 1.2 million professionals in the financial and services industry. These features and benefits have created an ideal business environment for angel investors and venture capital firms looking to invest in innovative and attractive opportunities.
One of Colombia’s many strengths is its attractive regulatory framework to establish and manage private capital funds, according to the Latin American Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (LAVCA).
The country’s most important sectors are :
- IT services with a 48% demand
- Software with a 41% demand
- Digital content with a 11% demand
In 2015, the IT services industry registered record sales close to US $2.5 billion with an increasing demand from software and IT products oriented to the telecommunications, financial, government, mass consumption, and manufacturing sectors.
A solid economy and steady growth during the past years has been the fuel behind the internationalization strategy that seeks to attract foreign direct investment to develop mobile apps, digital animation, audiovisual products, video games, software and IT.
The Colombian government has created initiatives focused on increasing connectivity, improving professional training, and fostering bilingualism to ensure a more dynamic IT sector. In addition, foreign investors are exempt of Value Added Tax (VAT) in all exported services intended for foreign use or consumption as well as discounts in income tax to increase hiring of nationals. This investment ecosystem is ideal for investors in US and Canada, two of the main digital content exporting destinations for Colombia.
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