CEOE International highlights Colombia’s great effort to position itself as a great investment destination

Over the course of these days, Casado met the Director of the Alianza Impacto Latino-PVBLIC Foundation and his team, to coordinate a possible collaboration by the Spanish business sector in the Latino Impact Summit; with the Director of ANDI del Futuro (an organisation of young entrepreneurs in the Colombian employers’ association), Andrés Raigosa, to assess opportunities for collaboration in the context of the work done the Ibero-American region by FIJE and CEIB; and the Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogota, María Mónica Conde Barragán.

The Permanent Secretary of CEIB also met the president of ANDI, Bruce Mac Master and the Executive Vice-President of the Organisation, Paola Buendía, and participated in the second coordination meeting of the Colombia-Spain Business Committee, a board that is coordinated by the CEOE and ANDI and which represents an excellent tool for private cooperation seeking to promote and facilitate trade in goods, services and investments between Colombia and Spain, as well as representing legitimate business interests, expanding, deepening and projecting economic and commercial relations between both countries. The purpose of this meeting was to follow up on the work done in 2022 and to coordinate and prepare for the visits of two business delegations from Colombia to Spain and from Spain to Colombia in 2023.

This meeting took place in the context of the good relations between the CEOE and ANDI, which is due to the organisation of the 11th Ibero-American Business Meeting at the 25th Ibero-American Heads of State and Government Summit, and the follow-up that both business organisations have done since it was held in Cartagena de Indias, in 2016.

ProColombia: a great asset for the country
The Director General of CEOE International took part in the business meeting held as part of ProColombia’s 30th anniversary, during which its President, Flavia Santoro, reported that, between August 2018 and June 2022, more than 6,000 companies from 27 departments recorded exports worth 21.877 billion dollars. “ProColombia has consolidated itself as the good news bank for the country,” said Santoro, who added that as regards foreign investment, the institution supported and accompanied the arrival of more than 750 projects, resulting in figures of almost 34.788 billion dollars, and more than 332,000 jobs were created in the country.

During his visit to the country, Casado stressed the collaboration and potential that exists between Spanish business organisations and ProColombia in third markets through Spain. In fact, the Colombia Investment Roadshow 2022 is the main event for attracting foreign investment in the country. After the success of the last edition held at the CEOE, Casado met the most senior representatives of ProColombia to prepare and coordinate the possible organisation of the next Colombia Investment Rodshow in 2023.

14th Ibero-American Business Meeting and 5th MSME Forum
Over the course of the meetings held in Colombia, the Permanent Secretary of CEIB highlighted the preparatory work being done for the 14th Ibero-American Business Meeting in the Dominican Republic in 2023, as well as the forthcoming 5th MSME Forum in Lisbon in October.

Casado also bet on continuing to intensify the existing collaboration with ANDI and the young branch of the institution, ANDI of the Future, in all the activities conducted by the Ibero-American Business Council and in which the close cooperation of Colombia is always apparent.
Colombia: a country of opportunities that is committed to the future

After the meetings held with the most senior representatives of various institutions, Casado said that “Colombia is, without a doubt, the most welcoming country in the world in terms of business climate. Quality, trust and connectivity are among the traits that characterise the country.”

As the President of ProColombia, Flavia Santoro, reported during her recent visit to Spain, the business opportunities in that country are enormous in sectors such as infrastructure, energy, technology-based services, tourism and health. Thus, Santoro highlighted that Colombia offers investment opportunities of around 60 billion dollars in road infrastructure, 5.7 billion in airport expansion projects, 3.4 billion in restoration of railway infrastructure, 1.6 billion in river infrastructure and 433 million in port infrastructure. Regarding the energy transition, Santoro reported, Colombia ranks as the third-largest economy in the Americas in this area, behind Brazil and Chile. Moreover, he stressed, it offers incentives in renewable energy, including a 15-year 50% income tax deduction for investments in alternative sources.

From ProColombia, its president also stressed that, regarding technology-based services, the country represents about 17% of BPO sales in the region and is among the main sales points. Moreover, he said, it has a large and dynamic market for software and IT services. In the tourism sector, Santoro explained that Colombia is the most biodiverse country in the world per square metre, and the General Tourism Act passed in 2020 offers a reduced income tax for hotels, theme parks, agro-tourism, ecotourism or new docks, among other incentives. Finally, regarding the health sector, the President of ProColombia reported that 98% of the population is covered by the health system, which is among the highest figures in Latin America. Finally, Santoro invited those attending the meeting to take part in the Colombia Inside Out next week in New York, and the Colombia Investment Summit, which is due to be held at the end of October in Bogota. 

Therefore, Colombia’s success as a country has not come about by chance and can be summed up, according to Casado, as a combination of quality, commitment, perseverance, confidence and heart in everything it does.