The project is the result of collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, Fontur, Fenalco, the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, and the Externado University of Colombia. MICE tourism boosts the local economy by attracting corporate, academic, and institutional visitors who participate in high-impact events, generating employment, and consumer spending, and increasing the destination’s reputation.

“Meeting tourism not only boosts the local economy, it also presents us to the world as a prepared, diverse, and sustainable country. Bogotá has everything it needs to consolidate itself as the epicenter of major events,” stated Diana Marcela Morales, minister of commerce, industry, and tourism.

Of the 56 tourism service providers who participated, 28 completed the Diploma in Comprehensive Event Management, aimed at officials and collaborators of companies and MSMEs in the tourism sector. During 120 hours of in-person training, provided by the Externado de Colombia University and the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) organization, attendees were trained in legal and financial aspects, event modalities, social responsibility, operations, evaluation, and sustainability. As an added value, they obtained the international “Meeting Essentials” certification.

Additionally, 28 other providers completed the Sustainable Event Management Course, which allowed them to strengthen their skills in responsible practices and learn strategies to mitigate the environmental impact of organizing meetings, conferences, fairs, and other events. This comprehensive approach provided them with tools to combine competitiveness with sustainability.

The project had an investment of $1.066 billion USD, 77% co-financed by the ministry through Fontur. This training provided specialized knowledge in sustainability, innovation, and new technologies applied to MICE tourism, to improve the job skills of stakeholders in the sector’s value chain.

As part of this training program, the MICE Congress was held during the second half of 2024, an academic event that brought together more than 400 national and international attendees, who shared innovative practices and policies to strengthen the events industry in Colombia.

These results were possible thanks to the institutional coordination between the public and private sectors and academia, in a joint effort to consolidate Bogotá as one of the leading MICE tourism destinations in Latin America.

MICE tourism—Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions—is a specialized type of tourism that encompasses meetings, incentives, congresses, and exhibitions. Photo credit: MINCIT.

As a part of the Agreement, the NMA and the company have also agreed to settle the dispute via binding arbitration at the Center for Arbitration and Conciliation of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce for the purposes of seeking an expedited resolution to the ongoing claim, which is currently being resolved in Colombian courts where the proceedings can last several years. In contrast, the arbitration rules state the final decision by the tribunal takes approximately six to twelve months from the commencement of the arbitration process. To the extent that a final ruling is made in favor of the company, the Payment Plan will cease, and any amounts already paid will be offset against future royalty obligations. As advised by its Colombian legal counsel, the company continues to believe that it has a strong case for a positive outcome in an upcoming arbitration.

The agreement calls for the company to enter into a five-year payment plan, payable in biannual instalments for a total amount of approximately US$21.9 million plus interest at a 6% annual rate. The Company will make an initial upfront payment of US$1 million, followed by US$3.2 million in year 1, US$3.3 million in year 2, US$3.4 million in year 3, US$5.8 million in year 4 and US$9.7 million in year 5. The total amount payable represents all outstanding royalty payments which the NMA has claimed through to the end of December 2021. The parties have agreed to this interim arrangement until a final arbitration decision is made.

For this arrangement to comply with Colombian law, a secured guarantee equal to the value of the agreed payment plan is required. The Company intends to provide the required guarantee by granting security over 9,700 wet metric tons of concentrate. The security and the guarantee will be released proportionally as payments are made in accordance with the payment schedule. The security may be substituted for another type at a later date.

The company says it continues to work towards renewing the title to the El Roble property claims which are set to expire on January 23, 2022. If the company is unable to obtain the new title on time, it will continue operating after the expiration date while the process for the new title continues, as pronounced by the NMA in response to a formal query made by the company. Although the process for the new title is progressing favorably, there is no assurance at this stage that the company will obtain a new title.

Claro, officially known as Comcel (Comunicación Celular S.A. Comcel) in Colombia, met its obligation by paying $980 million USD before the deadline imposed by the arbitration authority. Movistar, officially Colombia Telecomunicaciones S.A. E.S.P., paid $472 million USD (1.4 trillion pesos), according to the government.

According to Finance Minister Mauricio Cárdenas, this major injection of cash will ease the financing burden for the government. “With these resources, the nation will reinforce our external pre-financing,” said Cardenas in a press conference.

The vast sums of the fines were defined in July during an arbitration ruling against Claro, which is a subsidiary of Mexican mogul Carlos Slim’s America Móvil SAB de CV, and Movistar, controlled by Telefonica SA of Spain, for not upholding contractual obligations for their mobile services offered in Colombia.

The sum of the total has been met with challenges. Though it complied with the ruling’s payment timeline, Claro said it would continue to appeal the decision. “Comcel will exhaust every national and international available legal action to challenge the arbitration award,” said the company in a statement.

The dispute surrounds an asset reversal clause of an agreement for cell services that dates back to 1994, according to the government. The award totals were assessed by an arbitration tribunal of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce.

Photo credit: Jared Wade

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.