{"id":11399,"name":"Cali","countryId":64,"stateId":716,"bounds":"3.2845748,-76.590503,3.505554,-76.4608249","latitude":3.45165,"longitude":-76.532,"website":null,"population":2392877,"clusterParent":11399,"tractionRank":276,"slug":"cali","customDescription":"![Cali painting](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1547045960-1cb60706f275?ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1000&q=80)\n
Cali, located in Colombia, has emerged as a thriving startup ecosystem and an attractive destination for relocation and investment. It boasts a strong educational foundation, with Icesi University recognized as the top university in Colombia by Times Higher Education. This esteemed institution nurtures talent and produces graduates well-equipped for the demands of the startup landscape.
\n\n
The region of Cali and Valle del Cauca has established itself as a technological hub, housing prominent software development companies like Carvajal, Siesa, Open, and Óptima. This concentration of tech expertise provides fertile ground for collaboration and access to skilled professionals.
\n\n
Cali offers valuable support to startup projects and companies through its extensive mentorship and counseling network. With over 200 mentors and counselors available, startups receive guidance and advice to navigate organizational challenges, fostering growth and success.
\n\n
Colombia, including Cali, offers a [digital nomad visa](https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/v/nomadadigital), enabling remote workers employed outside the country to relocate and contribute to the local economy. This visa program attracts international talent and fosters a diverse entrepreneurial community.
\n\n
The [Cali Chamber of Commerce](https://www.ccc.org.co/) plays a vital role in improving infrastructure and support networks for small businesses and startups. With a focus on innovation, the chamber actively promotes entrepreneurial growth and prosperity in the region.
\n\n
In summary, Cali's startup ecosystem stands out with its top-notch education institutions, abundance of talent, robust infrastructure, attractive public sector incentives, and dedicated organizations focused on fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. These factors position Cali as an ideal destination for individuals and businesses seeking to thrive in a dynamic and supportive startup environment.
","description":"The main city and economic hub of Colombia’s Pacific Coast in the Valle de Cauca region","clusterName":null,"dashboardTexts":"\"{\\\"dashboardData\\\":{\\\"city_id\\\":11399,\\\"portal\\\":\\\"{\\\\\\\"id\\\\\\\":17,\\\\\\\"userId\\\\\\\":1,\\\\\\\"cityId\\\\\\\":11399,\\\\\\\"countryId\\\\\\\":null,\\\\\\\"regionId\\\\\\\":null,\\\\\\\"stateId\\\\\\\":null,\\\\\\\"hostname\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\"cali.startupblink.com\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\"name\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\"Cali\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\"data\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\"{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"renderer\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"homepage\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"topBanner\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"statsSection\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"middleBanner\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"industryStatsSection\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"blackSection\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"demographicStatsSection\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"middlePicture\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"timelineSection\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"leadForm\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"poweredBySection\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"]},\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"leaderboards\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"type\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Cities\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"state\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":73,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"className\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"},\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"portal_link\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"https://www.ccc.org.co/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"greatCityText\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"en\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Santiago de Cali, usually known by its short name \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Cali\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", is the capital of the Valle de Cauca region and the economic center of Southwestern Colombia. It is also the only major Colombian city located near the Pacific Coast. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nIt is one of the fastest growing economies in the country and is also known as the “Salsa capital of the world”. Cali is home to some of the most vibrant nightlife and events one is likely to come across. Its annual Feria de Cali is a shining example, with music and dance throughout the city.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"default\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In the recent years, Moscow has become a gravity centre for the most talented people not only from Russia and Eastern Europe, but from all over the world. Such concentration of professionals affirms Moscow as one of the global “cities of the future”, world centre for the development of breakthrough technologies, particularly in IT.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"},\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"blackText\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"ru\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"

Taxes and Incentives

The Moscow Seed Fund provides various kinds of loans to innovative startups (up to USD 530,000), such as preferential investment loans to innovative projects at the seed and pre-seed stages.
The Moscow Small Business Lending Facilitation Fund provides loan guarantees; securities for bank guarantees, as well as securities for leasing, factoring and letters of credit in amount up to 70% of the collateral required by the creditor (up to USD 1,500,000).
Residents of technology parks receive a number of benefits: subsides for equipment and construction, property tax exemption; they also pay only 0.7% of assessed land tax, and pay land rate in amount of 0.01% of its cadastral value.

Investor Landscape

In 2020, Moscow startups received a total of 333 Million of funding
As of September 2021, there are 153 Venture Capital Funds in Moscow.
Most prominent VCs include Access Industries, DST Global, Innovestor, Fastlane Ventures, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital most of these firm invest heavily in technology companies.
Russia also has a state-funded development organization. Russian Venture Company (RVC JSC).

Notable events

Blockchain Life, 27 - 28 Oct 2021
Communities include: “Moscow Startup Community” and “Startupgrind Moscow” iForum, March 20202

Taxes and Incentives

The Moscow Seed Fund provides various kinds of loans to innovative startups (up to USD 530,000), such as preferential investment loans to innovative projects at the seed and pre-seed stages.
The Moscow Small Business Lending Facilitation Fund provides loan guarantees; securities for bank guarantees, as well as securities for leasing, factoring and letters of credit in amount up to 70% of the collateral required by the creditor (up to USD 1,500,000).
Residents of technology parks receive a number of benefits: subsides for equipment and construction, property tax exemption; they also pay only 0.7% of assessed land tax, and pay land rate in amount of 0.01% of its cadastral value.

Investor Landscape

In 2020, Moscow startups received a total of 333 Million of funding
As of September 2021, there are 153 Venture Capital Funds in Moscow.
Most prominent VCs include Access Industries, DST Global, Innovestor, Fastlane Ventures, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital most of these firm invest heavily in technology companies.
Russia also has a state-funded development organization. Russian Venture Company (RVC JSC).

Notable events

Blockchain Life, 27 - 28 Oct 2021
Communities include: “Moscow Startup Community” and “Startupgrind Moscow” iForum, March 20202

Taxes and Incentives

Investor Landscape

Notable events and communities

High level of tech experts and researchers. More than 326,000 researchers in over 800 scientific organizations.
Huge potential for research and development in AI and Big Data Center of creativity in Europe.
Creative industries and the high tech sector produce a strong synergy effect for the birth of new ideas.
High level of tech-optimism and willingness to try innovations amongst the population.

Livability\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nCali is known for its wonderful weather with beautiful, warm and sunny days and is also famous for its historical places, entertainment and day and night activities.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nCali’s low cost of living make it more affordable than both Medellin and Bogota. According to [Cali profile](https://www.trade.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03/Cali%20Profile_0.pdf), document produced by American Chamber of Commerce - Amcham Sur Occidente and U.S. Commercial Service Bogota, the average cost of living in Cali is 48% lower than in Panama and Costa Rica, and the city also has two of the best IV level clinics in Latin America - Fundación Valle del Lili (# 4) and Centro Médico Imbanaco (# 9).\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n

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Infrastructure\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nCali has been a strategic Colombian transportation centre for the last 400 years and is linked by railroad and highway with major cities of the northeast and the Pacific littoral (Buenaventura). It also possesses a major international airport and a military air base. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n

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Education\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n![Campus, Colombia, Cali, Uao, College, Javeriana](https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2014/09/03/18/43/campus-434805_960_720.jpg)\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nThe city has some of the most sophisticated and high-quality secondary education institutions and universities in the region. Most universities are located in the south part of the city. Well known are University of Valle (Public), Universidad Santiago de Cali (Private), Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Private), and Universidad Icesi (Private).\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n

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Food\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n![Photography, Fruit, Food, Nature, Colorful, Color](https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2020/04/21/00/04/photography-5070284_960_720.jpg)\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nThe cuisine at the Valley of Cauca is an extraordinary fusion of several different influences and cultures, from the indigenous tribes of ancient times to the Spanish and Arabic ingredients brought from the Old World, as well as a strong presence of African elements. Some of the dishes that you have to try in Cali are Sancocho de gallina, Tamal valluno, Arroz atollado, Empanada caleña, Marranitas vallunas, Aborrajados, Manjar blanco, etc.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n

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Technology\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n Ranked as the [fourth highest country in LATAM for Internet users](https://www.statista.com/statistics/186919/number-of-internet-users-in-latin-american-countries/), Colombians are tech savvy and plugged into cycles of technology innovation around the world.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nWhile Cali doesn’t have the tech ecosystem size of Medellín or Bogotá, it is certainly on the rise. The regional government is also redoing the infrastructure to [turn Cali into a “smart city”](https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/how-cali-colombia-learned-bogot-s-and-medell-n-s-mistakes/200316/) and get it on the level with Colombia’s larger innovation hubs.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nWith the [International Center for Tropical Agriculture located in Ca](https://ciat.cgiar.org/where-we-work/)li, the city is also becoming a hub for entrepreneurs and tech talent focused on innovations in the future of food, sustainable agriculture, and regenerative studies.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nEtix Everywhere, has also opened its first Latin American [data center](https://cafeto.co/etix-everywhere-launches-data-center-in-cali-colombia/) in the city of Cali.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n

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Cali's Attractions\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n![white and brown concrete building near green trees under blue sky during daytime](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1610551102204-7ce3859e2e6b?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1000&q=80)\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nCali has lots of attractions that bring tourists from all over the world. Its most notable attractions are: the Plaza de Cayzedo, the city’s historical main square, the wooded orchid park (Orquideorama Enrique Perez Arbeláez), which hosts an orchid show each fall, El Gato, a cat statue by Hernando Tejada located next to the river, and the Cali river which has restaurants, hotels and famous museums along its banks.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n

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Art, culture and sports\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n![man in blue hat painting](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1610554360309-3b47803be187?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1000&q=80)\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nCali is an important cultural centre; the Archaeological Museum, Museum of Religious Art, Municipal Theatre, Conservatory of Music, and Institute of Popular Culture are located there. La \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Feria de Cali\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" is the main cultural event in the city celebrated since 1957. Cali is also known as the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Capital de la Salsa\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" given the city's love for that genre of music.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nCali is one of the main sports centers in Colombia, highlighting the organization of important sporting events such as the 1971 Pan American Games, the 2013 World Games and 2021 Junior Pan American Games.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n

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Safety\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nThe security of Cali has sometimes been [questioned](https://www.travelsafe-abroad.com/colombia/cali/). However, the city is becoming safer, and the increasing flow of tourists each year is a symbol of this. Though Colombia as a whole has a turbulent past, for anyone that now visits the country, it is evident that it has come a long way.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"default\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"With a rich history and diverse mix of culture, the Russian capital offers an interesting lifestyle to many. The population of over [12 million people](https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/moscow-population) is still growing and is attesting to the city’s attractiveness and its power to develop.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nWithout further adieu, here are 4 reasons why Moscow is a great city to live in:\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n1. Rich Culture\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/e_M4NhwxTU5cFnNIe-8k8bI_y-4QzEYRmdxWA0ZlZh2p4fzsuwvDimsYUimAOLiHV-09AgtiCHYyXAM3w2emEvV2e_Jlm1ZiscBNEyDFp72TjQTcwjyfJ17DPKpQC6nzfs4sporR)\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nIf you are a creative soul, this city is for you. In Moscow, the distinctive Russian architecture is at it’s finest as the city is home to a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. As the leading centre of the European creative industrie, Moscow has over 450 museums. Every year Moscow hosts thousands of events: festivals, exhibitions, concerts, such as the Moscow International Film Festival and the Circle of Light Festival. [Since 2011, the city strategy](http://www.worldcitiescultureforum.com/cities/moscow) has shifted towards modernization in the cultural policy which prompted the culture sector to grow their performance.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n2. Low Cost of living\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nAccording to Numbeo’S Quality of Life Index, the cost of living in Moscow is significantly lower than other European capitals. Although Moscow may be more expensive than other Russian cities, the city can be up to 61% more affordable than London according to [Expatistan](https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/comparison/london/moscow).\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n3. Transportation\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/x7AkXlFIwjgcA8fgVye6B5qdWzMQd3ue8LCrjsOYQcIlJ7apX1QES_jCem5DzenIEGV9PG5bQOT9tfevvnjAn6HuEeZrF_W59yjW5UiUFylNSwdBcJNshtJhRIXtXP3fjrFv1X2y)\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nInfrastructure in Moscow is under fast and continuous development with significant growth in road length every year. The city’s metro infrastructure is also impressive as the route length is the 5th largest in the world with 241 stations as of 2021.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n4. Sustainability\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nMoscow shows real progress in this sector as well making real efforts to reduce the ownership of private cars and to transform the face of the city into one that is more walkable. The shift towards [pedestrian friendly urbanism](https://www.planetizen.com/node/88156/moscows-erratic-shift-towards-walkable-city) has made the city not only more sustainable [but also safer and more convenient](https://www.govtech.com/fs/moscow-makes-over-its-streets-with-people-in-mind.html). The [PwC report](https://www.pwc.ru/en/publications/collection/quality-of-living.pdf) ranked Moscow as top of the list among 11 global megacities when it comes to green planted areas per capita.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n5. Exciting Startup science and tech industry\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nAs a startup founder, Moscow is a great city to consider. The city has made real progress in recent years to move up the ranks in the global smart cities\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"},\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"homePageMiddlePoints\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Kyoto was voted Best Big City in the world in 2020\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"It is the modern capital of innovation with government initiatives such as Kyoto Innovationallowing easy collaboration between startups, researchers, and tech parks.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Kyoto Startup Visa: launched in April 2020 by the Kyoto Prefecture, this visa allows it foreign entrepreneurs to work and establish their business in Kyoto with an expedited visa.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"],\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"topText2\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"logo\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"93a130c5c81c4523d5e39193f49431e1\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"aboutTopText\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"en\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"default\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"We've seen the startup ecosystem of Moscow rapidly mature in the last years. Having a dedicated startup agency has been instrumental in helping to deliver the right support services to entrepreneurs, investors and talent.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"},\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"timelineItems\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"en\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":[{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"title\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"2018\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"cardSubtitle\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Colombia’s first Service Free Trade Zone - Zonamerica starts operating in Cali\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"},{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"title\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"2011\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"cardSubtitle\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Invest Pacific launches the Investment Promotion Agency in Valle del Cauca with the purpose of attracting national and foreign investment\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"},{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"title\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"2002\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"cardSubtitle\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The Entrepreneur Fund is administered by the Colombia’s National Training Service (SENA)\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"},{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"title\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"1992\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"cardSubtitle\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"PROCOLOMBIA is founded as the entity in charge of the commercial promotion of exports, international tourism and foreign investment in Colombia\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"}],\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"default\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":[{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"title\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"2016\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"cardSubtitle\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The Moscow Agency of Innovations was established to create a truly favorable environment for the advancement of technology in Moscow.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"},{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"title\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"2010\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"cardSubtitle\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The Skolkovo Innovation Center and Skolkovo Foundation was signed into law with a goal to goal is to create a sustainable ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"},{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"title\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"2007\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"cardSubtitle\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Avito, a classified ads website and now a unicorn, first went online.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"},{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"title\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"2005\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"cardSubtitle\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The Moscow Seed Fund, a VC which invests in see and pre-seed startups, was established.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"},{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"title\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"1997\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"cardSubtitle\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Yandex search engine was launched!!!!\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"}]},\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"overviewText\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":{\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"en\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"By taking an active approach to ecosystem development, Cali’s startup ecosystem has become a fundamental part of Colombia’s startup scene and a strategic centre of innovation in the Andes region of Latin America. Cali is a city with an up and coming startup ecosystem, aimed at producing innovative tech development and forward thinking solutions to some of Colombia’s biggest problems.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nThe Cali economy is based around agriculture, industry, and trade, but has a flourishing tech scene with coworking spaces like El Lab aimed at tech startups. Cali hosts regular startup events, and the local government also runs a number of initiatives to boost local tech companies and provide business mentoring.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nThe city’s desire to promote entrepreneurship is not isolated to coworking spaces, but also extends into many universities, encouraged by efforts of the local and national government. Almost every university in the city has spaces and an interest in promoting the innovative business ideas of students, such as ICESI University’s initiative [Start-Upcafe](http://www.icesi.edu.co/cdee/start-upcafe/). \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nThe government has demonstrated a commitment to entrepreneurship on a wider national level with examples such as [Bancoldex](https://www.bancoldex.com/), a state-owned commercial bank that operates as Colombia's entrepreneurial development and export-import bank, and [Innpulsa](https://www.innpulsacolombia.com/), another government-backed entity which facilitates innovation, entrepreneurship and business development within Colombia. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nThe city is expected to soon follow in the footsteps of Medellín’s growth, and the Cali Chamber of Commerce is stepping in to help further push the city in this direction. With events and programs built to “[Identify, promote and improve the skills of dynamic entrepreneurs in the region](https://latam.tech/can-cali-get-caliente-ecosystem-building-and-entrepreneurship-in-colombias-third-largest-city/3180/),” the community of tech talent and startups is continuously growing in Cali.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n![aerial view of city skyline](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1522812865094-5c856f116942?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1000&q=80)\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n##

Funding opportunities and incentives for entrepreneurs in Cali\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nTwo of the most prominent programs of the Cali Chamber of Commerce are [Valle E (Acelera Región - Aldea)](https://www.ccc.org.co/categoriasinfografias/valle-e/) and [Valle Impacta](https://www.ccc.org.co/valleimpacta/), programs focused on early-stage startups and scaleups, respectively.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[Valle INN](https://www.valledelcauca.gov.co/competitividad/publicaciones/60455/que-es-valle-inn/): An entrepreneurship program that provides advice and support to startups who are in the ideation stage of a business or that are just entering the market. This initiative has provided over a million dollars in seed funding and created more than 255 jobs.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n##

Startup support facilities, coworking spaces and communities for entrepreneurs\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n![person using macbook pro on brown wooden table](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1584964139384-8baf818ba6c8?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1000&q=80)\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nCali has a Technological Development Agency that solves business challenges called [Reddi](https://reddicolombia.com/), which is based on specialized technological knowledge, promoting innovation and competitiveness.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[The Creatic Technological Development Center](https://cdtcreatic.com/es/) is an education center and tech incubator that partnered with [Coderise](https://www.coderise.org/), a coding boot camp, to provide digital skills and programming training to hundreds of people in the city. This digital empowerment helps supply startups with a large pool of digitally literate workers ready to tackle coding tasks.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nFor digital nomads and entrepreneurs interested in visiting Cali, there is a variety of coworking spaces to choose from: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[FRONTDESK](https://www.frontdesk.com.co/) offers physical and virtual offices, meeting rooms and other facilities besides a great location in the North of Cali.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[Inspiro Workstation](https://www.coworker.com/colombia/cali/inspiro-workstation) was designed and constructed as a working space for creative minds and industries.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[Muelle Coworking](https://muelle.com.co/) has designed spaces to foster creativity and a network of partners with whom they coordinate educational and inspirational events.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[Coworking Tequendama](http://coworkcali.com/) is first coworking space in the south of Cali with shared spaces and private offices, fully equipped conference room, a cozy social area open to the enjoyment of the vegetation and sun, and other services.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[Yoffice](https://www.yoffice.com.co/) - dynamic and innovative workspaces for diverse work teams. Their spaces are strategically located both in the North and in the South of Cali: Centenario Shopping Center and Unicentro Shopping Center, facilitating the daily transfer of users.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[Morrison technologies LLC](https://www.morrisontechnologies.com/) is at the strategic location in the city center. It offers open/dedicated desks at a cozy private office of a technology company working with small businessesand entrepreneurs locally and around the globe.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[El Lab](https://el-lab.co/) - Innovation and coworking center developing the ecosystem of the Colombian Southwest.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[RíoCowork](http://www.riocowork.co/) was born with the aim of providing an alternative to the demand of independent professionals, entrepreneurs and SMEs from different sectors, to share the same workspace, both physical and virtual, to develop their professional projects independently, but at the same time encourage joint projects.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n##

Incubators and accelerators\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[INSITUBG](https://insitubg.co/) is an accelerator for women's entrepreneurship, specific populations (ETHNIC GROUPS, PwD, RURAL) and new economies, with experience in financial structuring and enlistment, business landing, scouting, commercial relations, fundraising processes and business consulting with a differential approach.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[Valle Impacta](https://www.ccc.org.co/landing/valleimpacta/) is a business scaling program led by the Cali Chamber of Commerce and the Bolívar Davivienda Foundation, which transforms companies at the highest level in their different economic sectors, through support for extraordinary growth, in order to promote economic and social development of the region.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[Acelera Region](https://www.ccc.org.co/landing/acelera/) is the program that seeks to accelerate the growth of innovative early-stage ventures in the regions of Colombia. It focuses on ventures with the potential for rapid, profitable and sustained growth.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[ParqueSoft](https://parquesoft.com/) is an incubator for marginalized individuals in Colombia and is led by innovators in digital art, science, and IT. The organization allows new entrepreneurs to learn skills and gain experience needed to succeed.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n##

Talent pool\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n![woman wearing academic cap and dress selective focus photography](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1523580846011-d3a5bc25702b?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1000&q=80)\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nAt the six universities located in the south of this city, all with standard quality certifications, [graduate more than 6,000 professionals each year](https://www.inversioninmobiliariacr.com/en/real-estate-market/item/1667-zonamerica-a-magnet-to-attract-the-best-talent-in-colombia). At competitive salaries, international companies can find graduates with excellent preparation and talent in the service industries of technology and outsourcing.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\nCali’s cost of living is more affordable than Medellín, and also a less competitive hiring market than nearby capital city Bogotá, making this an attractive location for hiring affordable and skilled engineering talent. The local talent market in Cali is known for having strong DevOps hires, and Cali’s globally ranked Universidad del Valle, Cali is fueling the talent pool.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n##

Resources and Events\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[CEmprende:](https://innpulsacolombia.com/cemprende/) A space focused on strengthening entrepreneurship, where the university and the public and private sectors come together, seeking to promote the generation of employment in the region.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[Tecnoparque SENA](https://www.caliemprendedora.com/creacion-y-arranque/259-tecnoparque-sena): Supports the development of innovative, technology-based projects to generate products and services that contribute to economic growth and competitiveness of the country and regions.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[The Creatic Technological Development Center](https://cdtcreatic.com/es/) is an education center and tech incubator that partnered with [Coderise](https://www.coderise.org/), a coding boot camp, to provide digital skills and programming training to hundreds of people in the city. This digital empowerment helps supply startups with a large pool of digitally literate workers ready to tackle coding tasks.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[Startup Grind Cali](https://www.startupgrind.com/cali/) - a community whose mission is to inspire, educate and connect the new generation of entrepreneurs.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[Tit@](https://www.cali.gov.co/educacion/publicaciones/109725/tit_educacion_digital_para_todos_informacion_basica_del_proyecto/) - is the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Digital Education for All\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Project Led by the Mayor's Office of Santiago de Cali and its objective is to strengthen children and young people, teachers and teaching directors of Cali in XXI Century skills: Research, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Critical thinking, new Technologies and bilingualism.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[Sistemas de Innovación](https://www.ccc.org.co/sistemas-de-innovacion-en-su-iv-version-en-el-departamento-del-valle-de-cauca/) - The Chamber of Commerce of Cali in alliance with Minciencias, the Government of Valle, ANDI and Fundación Universidad del Valle, joined forces to develop the program approved by the General System of Royalties called Innovation Systems in its IV version in the department of Valle Cauca, with the support of the consulting firm 10X Thinking.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n[Innpulsa](http://innpulsacolombia.com) - is an institution run by the national government to support and promote business initiatives with fast, profitable and sustainable growth. The focus is on detecting and overcoming the obstacles that hinder the growth of companies, working to break down the psychological barriers that limit the creative process and incentivizing the development of companies in the regions.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\",\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"default\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"

Unique quality of human capital and synergy between tech and creative industries

In the recent years, Moscow has become a gravity centre for the most talented people not only from Russia and Eastern Europe, but from all over the world. Such concentration of professionals affirms Moscow as one of the global “cities of the future”, world centre for the development of breakthrough technologies, particularly in IT. Such global giants as Huawei, Intel, and Microsoft have already opened their R&D centers in Moscow. In total, 44 R&D centers of the international companies included in 500 Forbes, Fortune 500 and 1000 Innovation are actively operating in the city. Moscow still has a huge unexplored potential as a unique location for R&D in AI and big data. Such global tech giants as Huawei and Samsung already recognized this fact and expanded their AI R&D centers in Moscow.

Moscow has a huge scientific and personnel potential. In comparison to other megacities of the world, Moscow boasts one of the highest levels of training of researchers and tech experts, due to a strong mathematical school and the traditions of the educational system, which provides extensive STEM knowledge. More than 326,000 researchers work in 800 scientific organizations, and more than 200,000 students prepare for their technical careers in Moscow universities.

Moscow has the best level of developer training in the world. For the entire duration of the Google Code Jam and Facebook Hacker Cup, Moscow participants in the national team collected the most medals. Over the past 2 years, students from the Moscow State University have won the International Student Programming Contest. In general, students from Russia have been winning this Olympiad for 6 consecutive years, and the main rivalry in the international competition is between Moscow and St. Petersburg. In addition, Moscow students have a high level of mathematical culture – Russia takes 3rd place and considering the merits of students from the USSR, 1st place in the total number of medals of the International Mathematical Olympiad. Also, Russian developers, according to HackerRank estimates, take 1st place in the development of algorithms that are aimed at solving specific applied problems.

Moscow is the leading centre of European creative industries. It is the world leader in the number of museums – more than 450 sites. Every year Moscow hosts thousands of events: festivals, exhibitions, concerts, and much more, such as the Moscow International Film Festival and the Circle of Light Festival. In Moscow, creative industries are getting ever more interwoven with high tech sector, which produces a strong synergy effect for the birth of new ideas.

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