Entrepreneurship in Colombia is growing like never before. Why is this and what are the opportunities that this generates? In this article we tell you everything.
The entrepreneurial ecosystem in Colombia, especially for digital businesses such as and , has evolved significantly in recent years.
Due to the success of national startups abroad, the country is increasingly attracting large international investors looking for national startups to accelerate.
Without a doubt, this opens up new opportunities for Colombian entrepreneurs!
For this reason, in this article we will analyze the scenario of entrepreneurship in Colombia in 2020, highlighting its most promising sectors so that you understand how the way of doing business in the country is changing it.
Let’s start!
How has entrepreneurship evolved in Colombia?
Just three years ago, in 2016, Colombia was classified as a country with a low level of innovation according to the. With an investment in innovation of 2% of GDP, Colombia was far behind the leading countries in the region such as Mexico, Chile and Brazil.
Fortunately, today the scenario is different. According to the success of digital ventures such as Rappi or Liftit, for example, Colombians are losing their fear of entering the market with the help of accelerators and funds.
The keys behind this change have been technology and the emergence of a capacity for entrepreneurial initiative that has managed to close gaps and awaken creativity.
In the first place, large projects are born throughout the country, because today, in each region there is a support network for entrepreneurship made up of chambers of commerce, incubators, universities and other institutions that provide guidance and even financing.
Second, according to the most recent GEM Colombia, an entrepreneurial mindset is growing in the country, reflected in the positive perception of entrepreneurship and the impacts of entrepreneurship on employment, innovation and industry.
10 factors that stimulate entrepreneurship in Colombia
Within the framework of the, the country is undergoing reforms that allow entrepreneurship to emerge more easily. Here we list 10 factors that are stimulating this scenario.
1. Orange Economy
The Colombian government is raising the flag of the Orange Economy, which is the market where goods and services protected by intellectual property rights are traded. With this, technology startups benefit from a modern regulatory framework.
2. Improvement of technological infrastructure
Although one of the country’s great challenges has been connectivity, in 2019 this reached 65% of the population. Likewise, with the implementation of 4G networks, Fifth Generation networks are already being targeted.
3. Government support programs
The creation of programs such as iNNpulsa and Apps.co promote innovation and digital entrepreneurship. Through training, they support entrepreneurs to formulate sustainable and scalable business models.
4. Clearer and more dynamic investment chains
The processes to access national calls for acceleration and financing have been democratized. In this way, a greater number of entrepreneurs can access resources more easily and quickly.
5. Arrival of international accelerators
With the landing of Google Launchpad Accelerator in Latin America, Colombian startups have the opportunity to receive specialized advice to overcome their technological challenges.
6. Facilities to export a digital business
The export of models is easier compared to other types of products or services, where the processes are highly bureaucratized.
7. Coworking spaces
Making alliances between entrepreneurs has never been so easy. Due to the new spaces that are opened in events and meetups, entrepreneurial communities have been created in the different cities of the country.
8. Success stories
With large Colombian startups succeeding in the digital business market, nascent entrepreneurs are encouraged to bet and believe in their own projects.
9. Changes in the labor market
Thanks to the modalities of , Colombians are being trained to take on the challenges of Digital Transformation. With new job profiles, the country’s business scene is also renewed.
10. New characteristics of the consumer market
Increasingly, Colombians are adopting technology to carry out their daily activities. Whether for comfort, savings or practicality, the use of digital is taking center stage in people’s routines.
What types of ventures have become promising in Colombia?
The Digital Transformation is taking the baton of entrepreneurship in Colombia. In fact, according to the website, 58.4% of companies in the country are adopting a Digital Transformation strategy.
Why? Digital business models have achieved resounding and scalable success due to their ability to respond quickly to the needs of today’s market.
For this reason, different digital businesses have emerged in recent years in Colombia, mainly in the service sector, followed by the consumer sector, the media, airlines, tourism and the financial market.
But not all the ventures in the country become big projects.
On the contrary, there is currently a great opportunity with personal ventures, promising business models that do not require large investments.
Here is a video where Ana explains better what are startups or emerging companies that have digital and technological transformation as a premise.
Take a look at some examples of these businesses below.
1. Infoproducts
Selling is one of the most popular and effective digital business models in 2020. Any downloadable material can become an info product, for example:
If you know something and can put it in one of these formats, you are ready to enter this market.
2. Professional services
There is a wide range of professions that are adapting to a remote digital work modality: designers, editors, coaches, programmers, photographers and many more professionals are setting up their own business.
Create your portfolio of services and make your work available through all the channels you have available: social networks, email or web pages. You will see how the clients begin to arrive!
3. Organization of events
Organizing events such as conferences, courses or seminars can be very profitable. In addition to creating a network of contacts, events give you recognition and authority in a community.
In a first stage your events can be free. When your presentation is perfected, you can start charging a payment per entry.
4. Publications
Creating and publishing original content is a highly required service nowadays. Whether it’s your own blog or working as a contributor to another medium, posting is a promising business model.
Host a to keep your posts consistent, qualify organic traffic, and build a community.
5. Affiliate Business
If you have a wide audience, or it would not cost you to form it, you can think about the . This is based on the sale of third-party products through a channel owned by you, be it your social networks or your website.
This business model is popular in the so-called Digital Nomadism, since sales are made by third parties and you get a commission for each one, without worrying about logistics issues.
Colombia has already entered the digital transformation
The entrepreneurship scenario in Colombia is going through a renovation due to the Digital Transformation. We saw that in a span of a few years, the country went from being a lagging actor to being one of the main poles of entrepreneurship in the region.
Thanks to the collective efforts of the government, educational institutions, private funds and international entities, entrepreneurs have more facilities than ever to start their own projects.
Projects as large as Rappi, or personal digital business models such as the sale of info products or affiliate businesses through web pages and blogs create an ideal creative scenario for entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship opportunities in Colombia are growing, as well as the confidence of large investors in the country. What are you waiting for to ride this wave?
*This post was written by the team at and has been originally published in August 2019 and has been updated to contain more complete and accurate information.
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