Any interested companies have until July 15 to submit their application to Wayra, the Telefónica-backed accelerator organizing this year’s summit on September 29 at the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce in the neighborhood of Salitre.

After the call for submissions ends, the organizers will chose the top selections for a chance to enter the Google Developers Launchpad program, receive mentorship from the IE Business School, and get an exclusive opportunity to pitch their business to around 30 investors. Those pitches will take place during a “speed dating” format the day before the forum begins, and Wayra said that past participants have successfully raised capital from the entrepreneurs on hand.

Lentes Plus, an online marketplace to purchase contact lenses in Colombia, participated in the Colombia Startup 2015 edition and was one of the success stories coming out of the event. “It was a great impulse to raise our first round of capital,” said Diego Mariño, co-founder Lentes Plus.

At the Colombia Startup 2016 summit, Apes, which uses radio frequency identification (RFID) to offer firms real-time inventory tracking, was the big winner. For coming in first place, the Bogotá-based company received assistance from the famed Springboard accelerator, which has helped turn many companies from small startups into big-money success stories.

Second place in 2016 went to Kiwi Campus, an on-demand delivery service for food and other goods that works on college campuses in Colombia — including University of Los Andes, National University of Colombia, and Javeriana University — as well as in the United States, Chile, and Mexico. CityTaxi, a cab-hailing app and member of the Wayra accelerator portfolio, took third prize.

In order to be eligible for this year’s program, applying startups must meet the following seven requirements, as described by the organizers of Colombia Startup 2017.

1. The business model and/or the proposed solution must be highly innovative. The proprietary technology will be valued and substantial improvements will be made to solutions that already exist.

2. Have sales and/or verifiable active users.

3. Have projection and/or regional or global scalability potential.

4. Have a structured team that demonstrates the knowledge and tools required to operate the startup. In addition, at least one of the founders must have exclusive dedication to it.

5. Must not have received more than $1 million USD in investment to date.

6. Have less than five years of operation (commercial stage). Spinoffs of existing companies with annual turnover of more than $1 million USD will not be considered.

7. The company must be incorporated in Colombia or have an interest in entering the Colombian market.

Carlos Castañeda, director of Wayra Colombia, says that he has seen the quality of the applicants and those participating in the program improve in each of the previous four summits. And he predicts that the trend will continue this year in an event that is expected to draw at least 1,500 attendees.

“Every time, we see more innovative talent in the country,” said Castañeda. “And it is precisely these types of scenarios that make entrepreneurs take off, giving them the opportunity to connect with actors who can become strategic allies of their growth.”

In addition to Wayra, Colombia Startups 2017 has support from Telefónica, the Bogota Chamber of Commerce, SENA, Google, Mercado Libre, IE Business School, the Bolivar Davivienda Foundation, KREAB Colombia, .CO Internet, and Pappcorn.

Photo credit: Wayra, Colombia Startup 2016

As the winner, the Bogota-based company will now receive assistance from the famed Springboard accelerator, which has helped turn many companies from small startups into big-money success stories.

Second place went to Kiwi Campus, an on-demand delivery service for food and other goods that works on college campuses in Colombia — including University of Los Andes, National University of Colombia, and Javeriana University — as well as in the United States, Chile, and Mexico. CityTaxi, a cab-hailing app and member of the Wayra accelerator portfolio, took third prize.

(Photo Credit: Colombia Startup)

In all, more than 1,500 attendees gathered in the capital for the fourth edition of Colombia Startup, an annual event that brings leading entrepreneurs in the country together with international investors and experts. At least 11,000 people live-streamed the event from across the world.

Event organizers were also proud to announce that they exceeded the 400 mark for official meetings between investors and entrepreneurs, a new record for Colombia Startup. Each of the 19 startups selected before the event got the opportunity to sit down in front of 25 investors to make their case for funding.

The event was also record setting in terms of the number of companies that showed up. “Colombia Startup is one of the most important events for entrepreneurs in the country, and we want to make it one of the most important in Latin America,” said Alfonso Gomez, CEO of Telefónica Colombia and president of the forum. “This year, the call to entrepreneurs broke the record by having 644 registered enterprises. Colombia Startup is a unique space for high-level networking and accessing potential investors.”

The conference kicked off with a reception on Thursday, October 6 in at the prestigious Casa Egresados Uniandinos before getting down to business the following day at the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce headquarters in the neighborhood of Salitre.

Some of the biggest guests were expected to include: Juan Gorricho of The Walt Disney Company, Andrés Hernández of Google, Gladys Corredor of Banco Davivienda, Carlos Ángel of Uber, and Daniel Arango of Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism.