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Chicago will be the stage and Colombia will play the leading role. For three days, PROCOLOMBIA will hold a mega-event in the " Windy City" of the United States to promote Colombia' s potential as a supplier of goods and as a tourist and investment destination.
The event will take place from September 3 to 5 on Navy Pier and will include training seminars for Colombian entrepreneurs, an exploratory mission of small and medium enterprises, business visits, and seminars to promote Colombia as a tourist destination and the dissemination of investment opportunities.
In addition, PROCOLOMBIA will hold a Business Matchmaking Forum with buyers from Canada and the United States for the food, manufacturing and apparel sectors.
" The idea is to establish a presence in the " Midwest" of the United States. We have already been to the east, west and south of the United States over the past year with events of the same proportions in New York, Los Angeles and Miami," explained PROCOLOMBIA President, Maria Claudia Lacouture.
76 Colombian Companies on an Exploratory Mission
PROCOLOMBIA prepared several activities for 76 small and medium enterprises from 16 of the country' s departments traveling to Chicago to learn more about the market, confirm the opportunities of their products and make the adjustments necessary for successful exports.
The entrepreneurs will be able to visit the distribution and commercialization channels for their products, such as supermarkets and department stores, and talk to experts about trends, labeling, packaging, order frequency, prices, competitors, textures, regulations, access requirements, logistics and opportunities.
Among the participants, there will be companies from the food sector that produce specialty coffees, snacks, panela (raw brown sugar loaf) and fresh and dried fruits. There will also be companies from the construction material and apparel sectors.
Business Matchmaking Forum
For two days, 321 Colombian food, manufacturing and clothing entrepreneurs will meet with 234 buyers from the United States and Canada.
The event is part of PROCOLOMBIA' s strategy to make use of the free trade agreements, and over its course there will be approximately 3,600 business meetings.
The dynamic consists of scheduled one-on-one 40-minute meetings, during which time each exporter will be able to show the best it has to offer to the international entrepreneur.
" Colombia is Magic Realism" will be presented in Chicago
Representatives of the most important travel agencies, tour operators and incentive houses of the Midwest United States will learn why Colombia is Magic Realism.
A total of 80 tourism entrepreneurs have confirmed they will attend the seminar. The new tourist promotion campaign will be presented along with the eight tourist products offered by Colombia to international travelers during the seminar.
Investment by Canada and the United States
In the presence of 30 potential investors from Canada and the United States, PROCOLOMBIA will discuss Colombia' s potential in the automotive, equity fund, construction material, IT service, BPO and software sectors.
In addition, Equity International, an equity fund specialized in hotel and real estate projects, will participate in a panel. It will talk about its experience as a company installed in Colombia since 2011.
Also participating will be the law firm Baker & McKenzie, a TMF Group consultant providing services in the country, and representatives of Invest Pacific and Invest in Bogota, who will have the opportunity to present attendees and potential investors with opportunities in their regions.
