The city of Medellín is scheduled to host the second edition of the “WOBI on AI and Business Transformation” summit on April 28, 2026. The event, which will take place at Plaza Mayor, represents the sixth major collaboration between the Alcaldía de Medellín and WOBI since the partnership began in 2017. This year’s forum focuses on the integration of artificial intelligence into corporate leadership and operational strategy, reinforcing the city’s status as a Special District of Science, Technology, and Innovation.

Martha Lucía Maldonado Nieto, Managing Director of WOBI Colombia, detailed the evolution of the event series, noting that previous editions held between 2017 and 2019 attracted more than 4,300 business owners. “Since last year, we have shifted these digital transformation conversations toward an unavoidable topic: Artificial Intelligence,” Maldonado stated. She emphasized that the summit is designed to analyze how AI supports macro-management themes rather than providing purely technical instruction. “WOBI is not about providing technical content. Our goal isn’t to teach people how to operate a specific AI tool, but rather to support them in their roles as leaders.”

“We are certain that only by sensitizing our leaders will we achieve real changes in organizations.” — María Fernanda Galeano Rojo

The upcoming summit features a lineup of international speakers covering diverse facets of the technology. Terry Gutiérrez, the General Manager for Tesla (TSLA) in Mexico and Latin America, will present on leadership algorithms. Nathan Furr, a professor at INSEAD, is set to discuss using AI to scale business models. Other speakers include marketing expert Giuseppe Stigliano and Andrew Mayne, a former prompt engineer at OpenAI, who will provide insights into the development of ChatGPT. Maldonado noted that the curation of this content is managed by WOBI’s team in New York to identify global trends relevant to executive decision-making.

María Fernanda Galeano Rojo, the Secretary of Economic Development for Medellín, will also address the assembly on the role of “Cities that Think.” Galeano Rojo highlighted the city’s commitment to ensuring high-level technological discourse reaches multiple sectors of the local economy. “We will have 600 leaders, more than 70% of whom will be from our city,” Galeano Rojo said. “At the same time, we will have parallel activities where we will be talking with these same speakers, as well as with entrepreneurs and university students. What we want is for all this knowledge to reach different sectors of our city.”

The event structure has transitioned to a membership model as of 2024, though individual tickets remain available. Maldonado confirmed that the average cost for participation is approximately $1,990,000 COP. The summit aims to build on the success of the inaugural AI edition, which saw 800 attendees from 350 companies and has since been exported to Madrid and Milan. “Artificial Intelligence is not just another trend; it is a new reality,” Maldonado added. “It is going to change and impact us in much the same way that the internet at some point changed the way we function.”

The Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico continues to prioritize digital skills and AI training as part of its broader economic strategy. According to Galeano Rojo, the objective of the Alcaldía de Medellín is to use these international platforms to drive social and organizational transformation. “We are betting on digital skills training and AI training,” she remarked. “We are certain that only by sensitizing our leaders will we achieve real changes in organizations.”

The one-day academic session will begin at 9:00 AM. Key regional entities including Rappi, McKinsey, and Procter & Gamble (PG) were cited as background for the expertise being brought to the stage, reflecting the professional trajectories of the invited speakers.

The company launched its first experience center in Bogotá’s Andino shopping center, using a direct business model that bypasses local dealers or authorized distributors. The base model offered for the Colombian market is the Model 3, listed with an initial price of $109,000,000 COP. First deliveries for vehicles ordered online are anticipated between late January and early February 2026. A second experience center is expected to begin operations soon in the El Tesoro shopping center in Medellín.

Though the announcement marks Tesla’s official launch in Colombia, individuals have already imported Tesla vehicles into Colombia.

Tesla announced expansion plans within the country, including additional experience centers, test drive programs, service experiences, and the deployment of Supercharger stations, beginning in Bogotá. The local subsidiary, officially registered as Tesla Motors Colombia S.A.S., confirmed that its vehicles sold in Colombia will offer charge autonomies exceeding 400 kilometers. Karen Scarpetta, the Country Manager for Tesla, cited the company’s direct structural setup as a factor enabling competitive pricing relative to other global markets. The company is actively recruiting personnel for positions in Bogotá and Medellín, including service technicians, sales managers, and distribution coordinators.

The formal market entry for Tesla began in January 2024 with the registration of Tesla Motors Colombia S.A.S. in the Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá. The scope of registered activities includes vehicle commercialization, maintenance, repair, distribution, energy control, and the sale of electric energy. Showroom vehicles for the initial launch included the Model 3 and the Model Y.

The US-based company is entering a market where it will compete with established brands like China’s BYD (HKEX: 1211, SZSE: 002594), which has operated in Colombia since 2020 through Motorysa, and Geely (HKEX: 0175), which is launching operations through Grupo Vardí. Tesla‘s debut occurs amid global adjustments for the firm. In the third quarter of 2025, the company reported revenues of $28,095,000,000 USD, representing a 12% year-over-year increase. However, net earnings experienced a 37% decline, marking four consecutive quarters without meeting market expectations. Despite these trends, Tesla regained market share leadership in the European electric vehicle segment after a period of volatile demand.

Locally, Tesla stock has been available to Colombian investors since June 2025 through the Bolsa de Valores de Colombia (BVC)‘s Mercado Global Colombiano, with the backing of Acciones & Valores S.A.. This inclusion provides local investors with direct access to shares of the US technology and sustainable mobility sector.

Above photo: Tesla Model 3 (courtesy Tesla)

Holberton provides what it calls “Silicon-Valley grade” peer-learning and project-based software engineering training in a 2-year curriculum and charges no upfront tuition. Students acquire practical skills and an understanding of theory through hands-on learning closely advised by mentors from US technology companies. Holbertson claims its students have been employed at top-tier employers like Apple, LinkedIn, Google, Amazon, and Tesla.

According to Simón Borrero, co-founder and CEO of Colombian Unicorn Rappi, Colombia lacks up to 200,000 software engineers, and as such Colombian government has announced that it is a priority to support the development of software talent to advance the digital transformation of the economy.

The school charges no upfront tuition. Instead, graduates are asked to contribute a percentage of their salaries to the school for the first three years of their post-Holberton employment, giving back to the next generation of software engineers.

“Our administration is on a deliberate path of a digital transformation of the economy, from manufacturing to ‘mindfacturing’ through the production and export of intellectual property. We are keenly aware that there is a deficit in software engineers and programmers, in Colombia and globally,” said Colombian President Ivan Duque. “Our priority is to reform education towards a digital economy, at all stages of education … supporting efforts of the software industry training software engineers around their needs with disruptive initiatives.”

“As the world becomes increasingly digital, Colombia stands at the cusp of a burgeoning opportunity,” said Victor Muñoz, Colombia CIO. “By working with a new generation of schools, we can efficiently train at scale the people of Colombia for the current and rapidly growing number of high-paying software jobs. With more talent, Colombia will be poised to attract more businesses to our country, a virtuous cycle fueling even greater job growth.”

Sylvain Kalache, co-founder of Holberton

The Bogota school, opened in January in partnership with Rappi, Colombia’s first startup valued at more than $1 billion, including a recent investment by Softbank. The school attracted more than 5,000 candidates for just 50 spots in the initial cohort. Rappi contributed to the opening costs and provided mentors to the students. It has also committed to hiring graduates from Holberton.

Coderise, a regional non-profit that empowers youth through software engineering education, is leading the efforts and operations of the school in Colombia.

“The future of LATAM is digital, and we are leading the revolution in Colombia. But this success will depend on available high-quality software engineering talent,” said Borrero. “The ability of Holberton to attract students of all genders, rich or poor, educated or not and to effectively train them on in-demand skills is exactly what’s needed.”

Medellín has experienced significant transformation over the last five years. It was named the most innovative city of the year In 2013, and it has become a hub of digital innovation in Latin America. Ruta N, the innovation agency of the city, along with Socialatom Ventures with a joint Digital Business Development Center, will support Holberton in Medellín.

“We started in 2016 in the city of San Francisco. After we expanded our school to the state of Connecticut, with support from the governor, we were flooded with inquiries from other cities, regions and even countries, all seeking a Holberton School,” said Sylvain Kalache, co-founder of Holberton. “Colombia’s digital growth is so impressive that they cannot currently train the required pool of software engineering talent fast enough. These new schools will enable Colombia to take a quantum leap into the Fourth Industrial Revolution and give so many of its citizens lasting skills and high-quality jobs.”

Holberton boasts a remarkably diverse student body. Its automated admission process reduces human bias, resulting in one of the most diverse learning institutions in the tech industry. The school charges no upfront tuition. Instead, graduates are asked to contribute a percentage of their salaries to the school for the first three years of their post-Holberton employment, giving back to the next generation of software engineers.

Applications to Holberton are open to people with any educational background and of any age or gender.