Colombia. With the current situation that the world is going through, the consumption of knowledge-based services has had an important boom in recent months and Colombia wants to take advantage of this trend to consolidate itself in foreign markets.
That is why ProColombia, with the support of the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) and the accompaniment of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, CAF (Development Bank of Latin America), the University of the Andes and the Chambers of Commerce of Colombia, opens a call until May 18, 2021, for 145 knowledge-based service companies that are exporting or want to do so, receive advice for up to one year, through the Internationalization Factories program.
The call, which was launched during the IDB's Annual Meeting in Barranquilla, seeks to accelerate and strengthen the export process of companies, as well as minimize risks in the internationalization process and facilitate the incursion into international markets. In addition, it seeks to maximize efficiencies and improve competitiveness by taking advantage of existing trade agreements, as well as promoting the incorporation of new international marketing channels. We also want to promote associative models to reach foreign markets and transfer knowledge of export experiences through mentors. Similarly, the proposal is based on determining the most strategic business model, in accordance with the demands of the market.
"Last year, through Internationalization Factories, we saw a great interest on the part of knowledge-based companies to position themselves strongly in foreign markets. For 2021 we want to support this effort by companies from different regions of the country, with the great support of the IDB, so that Colombia positions itself as a trusted provider of these services, thanks to its quality, creativity and talent," said Flavia Santoro, president of ProColombia.
The 11 subsectors to which this call points are: Animation and video games; Architecture and engineering; Performing arts; Audiovisual; BPO; Education; Publishing and graphic industry; Music; Advertising and Marketing; highly complex health services (Bariatric, Cardiology, Oncology, Fertility, Neurology, Orthopedics, Pediatrics and Telemedicine) and Software and mobile applications.
Companies can apply through: https://fabricas.colombiatrade.com.co/ where they must attach required documents. Subsequently, a ProColombia official will contact them and make a diagnosis to know the opportunities for improvement in their internationalization process. Once accepted into the program, with the accompaniment of a specialized advisor from ProColombia, the work plan to be carried out will be structured and defined. Up to 3 service lines to be developed will be selected, for a period of up to one (1) year. Finally, the evolution of the company will be continuously evaluated to define additional services, within the portfolio that ProColombia has designed.
In 2020, more than 100 knowledge-based service companies registered in Internationalization Factories, of which 74 are receiving advice, from 13 departments where Antioquia, Atlántico, Caldas and Valle del Cauca concentrate the largest number of participating companies.
