The Startup Ecosystem of Colombia

Colombia has 11 cities in the top 1000 and is one of South America’s best countries for setting up a startup.

COUNTRY RANKING

Colombia’s startup scene saw an increase in 2023 and jumped 4 spots from the previous year, outranking Indonesia.

Population

51.9
Million

Regional Ranking

3rd
+
1
In South America

Global Ranking

40th
+
4
Worldwide

Ecosystem

Startup Ecosystem Overview

concrete high rise buildings at daytime
Colombia’s startup ecosystems are becoming an important engine for the country’s economy, with various initiatives supporting entrepreneurship both at the national and municipal levels. The US$ 1 billion investment of Softbank in Rappi, a Colombian delivery app, in 2019 was an important milestone and a powerful signal that demonstrated the potential of Colombian startups as they take the lead in the region. More startups, such as La Haus, Plazzi, and Ontop, are lining up to follow in Rappi’s footsteps.
Colombia’s startup ecosystems benefit from public initiatives aimed at promoting startups, along with a variety of accelerators and incubators that help launch early stage ventures. The country is an attractive fintech hub due to favorable policies, such as simplified financial licenses for financial institutions. The government has created a favorable climate for investment and several types of investment visas are available. Similarly, the government supports the startup scene’s need for skilled personnel. Colombia’s startup ecosystem is gathering technical talent due to multiple government initiatives aimed at increasing technological literacy in smaller cities around Colombia. The country’s Digital Nomad Visa (also known as a V Visa), welcomes international talent from around the world, enriching the talent pool in the country. By continuing to improve the country’s business infrastructure, the public sector can keep quality of life high enough to retain Colombian entrepreneurs while attracting more foreign talent.
Colombia is unique in the proactive approach of its municipal chambers of commerce towards startup ecosystems, with the Bogota Chamber of Commerce and the Cali Chamber of Commerce being two examples. In most countries, chambers of commerce are focused on classic industries, but in Colombia the focus is squarely on future economic growth.
Contributing to these public sector initiatives are some additional notable stakeholders, like iNNpulsa Colombia and Invest in Bogota. Also noteworthy, Ruta-N is taking the lead in the development of the Medellin ecosystem and hosts the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR).
While Bogota is the national leader when it comes to startup ecosystem maturity, there are a few younger hubs attracting attention. Medellin, for instance, is an increasingly popular location for expats and digital nomads to work on their startups. Similarly, Cali is one of the most innovative startup ecosystems in Colombia, offering incentives to develop the city’s tech scene. The fact that the country has multiple cities with recognizable startup activity gives an international boost to the local startup ecosystem.
By taking an active approach to ecosystem development, and supported by local Chambers of Commerce, Colombia’s startup ecosystem has become a strategic center of innovation in Latin America.

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ECOSYSTEM

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Ecosystem

The Startup Ecosystem in Colombia

Our startup ecosystem map for Colombia includes a sample of 1324 tech companies. We have identified as unicorns 2 startups that have passed the USD 1 billion valuations. Contributing to the vitality of this startup ecosystem are the 1 pantheon member entities.

Global Rank

Colombia is ranked within the top 50 startup ecosystems globally.

Top Industries

Colombia’s startup scene is best represented in Transportation, Foodtech, and in and Fintech.

Top Cities for Startups in Colombia - Ranked by StartupBlink
StartupBlink ranks the startup ecosystems of 100 countries and 1,000 cities. Download our latest Global Startup Ecosystem Report.
Rows:
2023 National Rank & Change ▲
Access subscores for 1000 cities and 100 countries
2023 National Rank & Change City
search leaderboards icon
Global Rank & ChangeTotal ScoreQuantity ScoreQuality ScoreBusiness Score
1st
0
65th
+
5
9.891
00.00
00.00
00.00
2nd
0
168th
+
37
3.750
00.00
00.00
00.00
3rd
0
282nd
+
11
1.549
00.00
00.00
00.00
4th
0
411th
+
15
0.774
00.00
00.00
00.00
5th
new
775th
new
0.210
00.00
00.00
00.00
6th
new
785th
new
0.203
00.00
00.00
00.00
7th
new
807th
new
0.194
00.00
00.00
00.00
8th
-
3
871st
new
0.164
00.00
00.00
00.00
9th
new
912th
new
0.146
00.00
00.00
00.00
10th
new
920th
new
0.144
00.00
00.00
00.00
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Startups

Notable Startups in Colombia
Platzi startup icon
Platzi
Addi startup icon
Addi
Frubana startup icon
Frubana

Startups

Successful Transportation startups in Colombia
Autolab startup icon
Autolab
Picap startup icon
Picap
Melonn startup icon
Melonn

Startups

Startups Ranking by Industry

Transportation icon
Transportation
#15 worldwide

On our map, you can explore a total of 382 startups for Transportation.

Foodtech icon
Foodtech
#25 worldwide

In South America, Colombia's Foodtech is in top 25. Colombia has a concentration of about 207 of the region's total Foodtech startups that are represented on our map.

Fintech icon
Fintech
#30 worldwide

Colombia's Fintech is ranked 30th in the world. Our database contains 162 for this industry.

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