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A series of activities, such as business conferences, investment seminars and visits to the most important companies in the area, will take place in the Golden State to promote Colombia as a technology provider.
By the name "A Close Encounter with Our Digital Industry", the promotional event organized by PROCOLOMBIA will take place in San Francisco and Los Angeles (California). These cities will host approximately 60 Colombian companies that are coming to offer their services of software development, information technology, video games and mobile applications.
"This is the third year in a row we are carrying out this type of joint promotion of the Colombian service sector in the well-known Silicon Valley, the global epicenter for business in the field of technology," explained Maria Claudia Lacouture, PROCOLOMBIA president.
The Colombian digital industry week in California will begin in San Francisco on September 30 and October 1 with about 50 potential US software and IT buyers.
The meeting at the W Hotel will include lectures on how to do business in Silicon Valley, an investment seminar on the opportunities offered by Colombia in the IT sector and visits to different technology companies based in the area. This event is one of the activities scheduled as part of the agreement between PROCOLOMBIA and the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications for the international promotion of Colombian digital content.
After that, on October 3 and 4, 80 potential buyers will learn about the video games and mobile applications offered at the Elevate Lounge in Los Angeles. Guests will include representatives of companies such as Paramount Pictures, Fox, NBC/Universal, Studios, Disney Interactive and Dreamworks Animation.
According to Lacouture, PROCOLOMBIA's call got a positive response from US buyers due to "the creativity and technical quality of Colombian developers, as well as the cost-effective factor of doing business with the country because of its proximity, free trade and cultural similarities."
Another advantage for the international market is that Colombia offers multiple development centers for the sector, such as the cities of Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla and Manizales, which have different options in digital animation, video games, mobile applications and cinema.
Yet another factor is the training of Colombian entrepreneurs. According to the 2012 Euromonitor report, Colombia is the third largest economy in Latin America by number of business and engineering graduates. According to the Ministry of Education, 1,838,718 engineers graduated between 2001 and 2011 in specialties such as electrics, electronics, and industrial and IT engineering.
This has been reflected in the sustained growth of the industry. According to International Data Corporation (IDC) data, the IT market has grown more than 26% in the last five years and exports grew 10.1% on average according to the World Trade Organization.
Exports are also on the rise. According to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, with data provided by the National Administrative Department of Statistics - DANE, Colombia exported USD 86,172 in personal, cultural and recreational services, including audiovisual and related services, educational services, healthcare services and others. Sales grew by 417% compared to 2011 when they totaled USD 16,663.
