The Colombian city, Medellin, will be the global headquarter of entrepreneurship, hosting delegation from 150 countries that shall design the business of the future.

“Entrepreneurship is changing the world, there is no doubt about that. Furthermore, it is changing it in a strong and vertiginous way, so Colombia wants to introduce itself to the world through the Global Entrepreneurship Congress as a platform so that those businesses may grow in our territory” said Marisol Camacho, Manager of Corporate Relationships at Bancoldex.

This is the eighth edition of the congress. Previous editions were developed in cities of countries such as the United States, China, Arab Emirates, England, Brazil, Russia and Italy. Medellin is the first Spanish speaking city to develop the event.

The Congress gathers global leaders, policy makers, investors, academics and businessmen in order to create an entrepreneurship environment that promotes social and economic progress.

According to Medellin’s Mayor, Federico Gutiérrez Zuluaga, this event provides the opportunity of hosting during four days “the global network of entrepreneurs, our businessmen may absorb a great deal of knowledge and will benefit from an exceptional collaboration work. It is important that it helps us reflect on what we are doing well and on what aspects we need to make improvements. We are talking about delegations from over 150 countries, we are expecting 2.000 participants and 5.000 people have already signed up”.

Choosing Medellin as headquarter of this global event has not been by chance. In 2013, the Colombian city was elected the most innovative city of the world.

However, the State’s policy on this aspect seem solid as having that achievement has not been enough. Medellin’s Mayor and the President of the Businessmen Association of Colombia, Bruce Mac Master have announced a Public Private alliance to increase competitiveness and innovation in the city.

The roundtables of this public-private alliance, called Committee 20/20, will focus on topics such as Innovation, Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Development, Mobility and Infrastructure.

It is interesting to analyze how the perception of the “Medellin brand” has changed in just a few years. Innovation and entrepreneurship have been key variables in this change. Clearly, an example to be followed by many other Latin American cities.