Cartagena, being located on the coast, is a city full of opportunities, a logistics, industrial, energy, maritime and tourist hub. As part of its development, the first Caribbean Innovation and Technology Center will be inaugurated next month.
This was announced by Juan Pablo Vélez, executive president of the city’s Chamber of Commerce.
(Ecopetrol, with pre-covid production and net income of $26.6 billion).
What is the balance that you can make of the operation of the Commercial Chamber for this year?
I think there are quite relevant results in compliance with the different indicators.
We serve entrepreneurs so that they have access to new markets, not only with a national but also an international vision. Likewise, we made progress in supporting social entrepreneurship and high-impact entrepreneurship.
What is the difference?
The social is the one that gives participation to population groups such as women, youth, vulnerable people and victims of the armed conflict. We have interesting programs like the one we do with Ecopetrol and the Cartagena Refinery.
We are one of the few chambers in the country that has such a representative social component, this is explained by our interest in contributing to closing gaps in a city with high rates of poverty and inequality.
(Minimum wage: the increase for 2023 could be between 13% and 18%).
And the high-impact entrepreneurship?
We are working on a Caribbean Innovation and Technology Center for the energy and petrochemical transition.
This, with the Ecopetrol Group that is the sponsor of this and the Chamber is the operator. It will go into operation on December 15. We have local universities that are part of this, as well as different industrial companies and government entities that participate. This what it seeks is to stimulate the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem of the city and the region. In addition, it will be the focus of the country’s energy transition. We are going to have incubation and acceleration projects.
Likewise, we have international allies such as the International Chamber of Commerce and the state of Bayer in Germany, among others.
Where is it?
In the Industrial Zone of Mamonal. We have 1,000 square meters and we are going to expand it next year to another 1,000 square meters. The Sena will have a Technopark with four laboratories: nanotechnology and biotechnology, engineering and design, virtual technologies and telecommunications.
This is the first center of its kind in Latin America and within it there will be a regional renewable energy training center, the first in Colombia, with the Ministry of Energy.
Likewise, we will have a Mobility Park that is basically a hydrogen service station.
All of this is due to a strategy that we have with the Bolívar Energy Cluster.
Is Cartagena’s business activity looking beyond tourism?
Outside the city it is understood that tourism is the main sector and all this industrial issue is unknown.
Tourism is key and has a direct relationship with trade and job creation. Cartagena is also logistics because 46% of the country’s foreign trade moves through it with the most competitive port in the Caribbean and the most connected in Latin America.
In shipyards we also concentrate more than 50% of the country’s activity.
What is the weight of tourism in Cartagena?
Approximately 20% of the city’s GDP. It generates 18,600 direct jobs and covers 3,600 companies.
And how did companies fare during the pandemic?
We went from 37,000 to 29,000 companies, mainly tourism, although those in the cultural and recreational sector were also affected. This year we are going back to pre-pandemic levels.
What are the issues that concern the private sector in Cartagena today?
security and governance. The city is immersed in an index of violence due to common crime. Prostitution, sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, and theft from tourists are issues of concern. In addition, the road network and the city’s furniture are deteriorating.
What is the city’s potential for business?
Every time the centers of consumption approach the centers of production to cut the supply chains.
Colombia has all the potential, mainly Cartagena because it is located on the coast, it is a city full of opportunities, a logistics, industrial, energy, maritime and tourist hub. It is the business epicenter thanks to its diversified economy, with growth potential. There is no sector in which we cannot grow.
What is the movement of tourists now?
Cartagena has 7.5 million visitors a year, of which 500,000 are international. We can multiply ourselves and, by doing so, we can also multiply jobs.
The best way to combat poverty is by generating employment and the best vehicle is tourism, followed by construction.
What is the expectation regarding the expansion of the Airport?
The expectation is to catch up on infrastructure.
BRIEFCASE
