Urban art has many benefits, from the colour it adds to our streets to the space it gives for political and social expression. But a more tangible benefit could be seen at a recent art auction organised by Lure media and Galería Beta, where a number of works went under the hammer to raise money for charity.

Galería Beta’s Daniela Camero Rosso told us, “I believe that urban artists are always eager to help and you see that in the fact that they are always giving workshops, and of course in the fact that they are painting on the streets and that they want to get their message across to people without getting any money in return.”

Art from DJLU, Toxicómano, Juegasiempre, Erre and others was up for auction in front of an audience that included the great and the good of the city’s art world.

Daniela added, “These are amazing artists in the Colombian arts scene and the Latin American arts scene, and the fact that they were willing to help was another thing that made the auction beautiful.”

The aim of the auction was to raise money for Fundación Pescador de Letras, which works within a disadvantaged community in Cartagena offering education and social development programmes to 120 children aged 3-12.

Daniela said that the event had been a success, thanks to the Calle 93 venue and the great artists and galleries who made people want to go and support such a worthy cause. “Of course, they get a beautiful piece of art in return for their support, which is a win-win situation,” she said.

Events like this are also important, she added, because they help to change the perception of urban art in Colombia which – although still considered by some to be vandalism – ought to be valued as highly as other forms of art. 

The post Going, going, gone appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

Colombian Pacific music is on the rise thanks to the growing popularity of the Petronio Álvarez Pacific Music Festival. The Bogotá Post spoke to musicians and industry professionals to find out why. 

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Hundreds of thousands are expected to attend this year’s Petronio Alvárez Pacific Music festival, a celebration of Colombian Pacific music which will take place in Cali from August 14 to 19.

We spoke to Diego Gómez, Llorona Records founder and producer, who is also a traditional Colombian music veteran, about the rise in popularity of Pacific sounds.

The post Is 2019 the start of a new era for Colombian Pacific folk music? appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

The Bogotá Post visits rural communities in Colombia’s most forgotten corner and hears first-hand how armed groups continue to terrorise rural communities.

Sarah Lapidus

W

hen the Colombian government signed the 2016 peace agreement with the FARC, many thought the conflict was over. But the FARC’s conversion from an armed group to a political party has left a power vacuum in rural areas where their guerrillas were once present.

Filling this gap are drug gangs, re-emerging guerrilla groups, and shadowy armed groups. And, as in the past, these fighters are now targeting civilians and small-scale farmers, often from both afro-Colombian and indigenous communities.

Those who speak out are most at risk. According to the Defensora del Pueblo, since the start of 2016, over 460 social leaders have been assassinated. 

So even as communities struggle to adapt to the post-conflict era, and preserve the memories of the victims from decades of state conflict with the FARC, new threats are on the rise.

Nowhere is this more apparent than Alto Guayabal, a village and Emberá Katío indigenous reserve set in the rainforest of Chocó, Colombia’s wildest and most westerly department.

“The conflict  has worsened. The ELN guerillas continue to commit crimes, assassinate and carry out kidnappings. Also, the paramilitaries, like the AGC, are stronger than ever. There has been little political effort, especially by our president, Iván Duque,” 22-year-old local activist Larry Mosquera tells The Bogotá Post during the second Festival de Memoria held in Alto Guayabal. 

The annual festival is organised by the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission (CIJP), a human rights nonprofit watchdog. The commission has also assisted the Embera community to create a humanitarian zone where – in theory – armed groups are banned. However, that ban is proving hard to enforce: in the weeks before our visit the indigenous community had reported gangs with guns terrorising villagers. 

But even with these recent threats, the Festival de Memoria goes ahead in Alto Guayabal, bringing together dozens of people from all sides of the conflict – ex-military, ex-FARC, and civilian victims – to share their stories.

A chance to speak out

Also present are delegates from Colombia’s Truth Commission, whose role is to listen and gather victim’s stories. It is part of the transitional justice agreement born from the FARC’s peace process with the state.

Danilo Rueda, the national coordinator of the CIJP, addresses attendees in the communal gathering hut: “The goal is for everyone to recount what they have experienced and what they feel, without accusing anyone,” he says. “This is about having a conversation, because we are convinced that through dialogue we can construct a different country. Words heal the soul.”

A Truth Commission delegate stands up to ask the group, “not to judge others, but simply to understand what is happening in society and how we were able to stop the war.” 

The conflict victims we talk to are grateful for the chance to tell their stories in front of the Truth Commission delegates, but they also worry that as they look back at the old conflict, a new one is emerging. For some it feels that the war never ended.  

“For us, there is no peace,” says Jorge Eliezer, sitting next to his partner in one of the communal huts. Armed men have threatened to kill him.

“They killed my cow, took our food, and fumigated our land,” he says. “And still, the government hasn’t kicked them out yet. They haven’t fulfilled their promise of land redistribution. The businesses are still there, and they look for intermediaries to enter [our territories] to rob us.” 

His story follows a narrative common in Colombia, according to human rights groups, whereby people with business and commercial interests use armed groups to threaten small-scale farming and indigenous communities, all part of a plan to force them to give up their land or sell it at a low price. 

In their effort to dislodge farmers from their properties, these gangs will escalate their threats to murder and massacres. Fear of these attacks can displace thousands of people and even whole communities. 

The CIJP has documented dozens of these types of threats and attacks. In fact the week following the Festival de Memoria, seven militia entered the community in a failed attempt to murder indigenous Embera community leader Bernado Zapilla. He was kidnapped and injured after being mistaken for another community member. They were thought to be members of the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC), one of the powerful armed groups that has grown since the peace deal was signed.  

Keep pushing for peace

Meanwhile, victims displaced by previous waves of violence are still waiting for financial reparation and restitution of land previously stolen. 

Many barriers still exist to getting back to their land, explains 16-year-old Diomedes Daveiba: “We want to return to where we were living before, but we can’t return. There are too many mines. We want them to clean up the mines on the roads, but there is no effort by the government.”

Meanwhile in the midst of continued conflict, communities like Alto Guayabla keep pushing for peace, explains El Espectador columnist Laura Mendoza, also taking part.

“In Colombia we talk about constructing peace. This event is constructing peace. None of us work alone in supporting the process, in raising awareness. There is a lot of work being done despite the continuous violence,” she explains. 

It’s a theme taken up by Larry Mosquera. Despite the continued violence, assassinations and fear in the community, he underlines the need to keep going. 

“The situation is very sad, but in the rural communities we continue to resist and fight for true and sustainable peace.”

The post Post-conflict: No peace in the Chocó appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

Bogotá Art District: A taste of some of the visual delights on offer in San Felipe.

Emily Hastings

There’s been a mini art revolution brewing in San Felipe for some years now. With 16 galleries in what’s become known as the Bogotá Art District, or BAD, the small zone has become a hub of creativity.

It’s not quite the Soho of Bogotá – or Boho as it should probably be called – but the creative community is already a firm fixture on the city’s art landscape. Indeed, San Felipe is one of the three districts to be included in the ARTBO weekend circuits.

What takes me there on a rainy Saturday is ‘Experimenta el Arte’, an event organised by Lure media (the team behind the comprehensive Living in Bogota guide). Lure’s boss, Boris Kruijssen tells me, “After we received several requests, we decided to move into organising experiences – we want to help people to uncover some of the city’s hidden secrets.”

The walking tour began at Galería Beta, which is run by Daniela Camero Rosso. She gives us a potted history of San Felipe, and explains that the man behind the area’s artistic development is architect and patron of many Colombian artists, Alejandro Castaño.

“This collector succeeded in getting various of us to move into the barrio, and then the other galleries started to come in a natural way,” she explained.

We were lucky enough to visit Castaño’s private collection – an Aladdin’s cave with practically every inch of wall (and indeed floor and parts of the ceiling) crammed with the work of artists from all over the continent. Camero told us that Castaño has supported a number of Colombian artists from their early days and continues to do so, a passion that shines through in the sheer volume of art. From videos in cubby holes to a dragonfly that flickers to life; chanting miniature crowds brought alive through a vinyl record to paper guns carved into the pages of a book; at every step and every turn there’s something else to catch your eye.

The two floors of Camero’s Beta gallery reflect the two sections of their collection. “One of modern art,” Camero enthuses. “That branch is focussed on contemporary art, particularly abstract and conceptual art.” We see this downstairs in Diego Mendoza’s woodblock prints showing an upside-down world of trees and machinery.

Upstairs, we are transported to the colours of La Candelaria with the familiar styles of well-known graffiti artists like CRISP and DJ Lu. Awash with colour, the urban art branch of the gallery opened two years ago. Camero says, “Our goal is to promote art more in open spaces, not only in closed ones.” That’s why they have done 15-20 interventions, when art takes over a public space as a sort of pop-up gallery area, within the neighbourhood.

The SGR gallery is a different beast entirely. We are greeted by a mess of melted wax chairs in front of a static screen – mirrored on the other side of the room by rows of pristine chairs lined up in front of a screen showing a chair. A symbol for nations of couch potatoes melting into images of themselves?

The galleries are not the only interesting thing about San Felipe. If you haven’t yet discovered Chichería Demente, an open plan restaurant that opened a few months ago, you are in for a treat. I’d go back time and again for their zucchini fries and palmitos frescos alone.

If the fries can’t tempt you, San Felipe is simply a must for anyone who wants to get a better feel for contemporary Colombian art.

Check it out:

Galleries of San Felipe: FLORA ars + natura, SKETCH, Instituto de vision, Liberia, Casa 4, 12:00, Galería Beta, Permanente, Rincón Projects, Estudio 74, Casa Valhalla, SGR, Espacio KB, Estudio 101, Plural, Fundación Arkhé.

 

If you are thinking about checking out the big BAD art district, Camero recommends the noches de San Felipe (@nochesanfelipe). Every two months, all of the galleries open their doors between 7pm-10pm.

Lure will also organising activities in San Felipe from June onwards. Contact them on info@luremediagroup.co or instagram @lurecityguide to find out more.

The post Not half BAD appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

During the last six years e-commerce in Colombia has increased remarkably.

According to a study published by the Colombian Chamber of E-Commerce, approximately 82% of the Colombian population over the age of 15 years now is online every day of the week.

Growth of e-commerce has occurred in all segments of society, despite challenges faced by the most vulnerable of the country’s population. Smartphones are the first means by which users in the country transact online (93%), followed by laptops (36%), desktops (28%), smart televisions (16%), and tablets (11%).

What’s been the impact of COVID-19 on Colombian e-commerce?

The arrival of the coronavirus has had an impact worldwide, Colombia not withstanding. For example, in Colombia’s capital of Bogota, messaging and home services have increased by 28%, a higher figure compared to last March.

In a study carried out by MercadoLibre, 4 out of 10 Colombians had changed their purchasing habits through e-commerce as a result of COVID-19.

In the last four weeks in the country, there’s been a reported increase of 190,000 searches related to products in health categories such as face masks (10 million), antibacterial (3.5 million, gel alcohol (8.5 million), thermometers (1 million ) among others.

Searches related to products for health protection have increased 11x more than usual. Purchases of basic necessities have also increased, specifically groceries, personal hygiene products and medications.

In total MercadoLibre’s platform registered more than 1.7 million new users in Latin America. Since Covid’s arrival in the region, of which 56% made at least 1 or 2 purchases within the platform, 20% made at minus 2 purchases and 24% made more than 3 purchases.

E-commerce has increased over 1000% in past decade

In 2018 Colombia ranked fourth in Latin America in sales via e-commerce, with $6 billion USD in sales being recorded.

Adobe, the Fortune 500 tech behemoth, this past quarter partnered with Medellin multinational Talos Digital in a collaboration aiming to expand e-commerce footprints in Latin America. According to Talos, the e-commerce market in Latin America will reach $70 billion USD in 2020.

While there are a number of ways e-commerce needs to improve in the region, including in shipping and transportation, the region has been consolidating itself into one of the most attractive markets in the world.

By 2021, e-commerce retail sales in Colombia are expected to exceed $ 10 billion, thus bringing the country to the same level as countries like Argentina and Mexico. Brazil today remains the country with the highest sale of e-commerce in Latin America.

The post A look into Colombia’s e-commerce industry in the time of COVID-19 appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

And now for something completely different.

It may boggle the mind, but there are apparently people out there who prefer to drink alcoholic beverages that aren’t beer. While those people are unequivocally wrong, it is worth pointing out that cider is also a lovely and enjoyable alcoholic refreshment, and that you can get hold of Colombia’s first ever cider right here in the capital. 

In 2013, Aotearea New Zealander Dan Hill was looking for an excuse to stay in Colombia after his contract with the country’s Air Force was up. He’d been in Colombia for three years by then, and it occurred to him that one thing this country didn’t seem to have, just as its craft beer industry was about to take off, was a cidery. Cider was booming in the States and the UK at the time and he couldn’t understand for the life of him why no one had really given it a crack here. He was introduced by his rugby teammate to Jairo Andrés Venegas, a local cricket and rugby fanatic (first Colombian wicketkeeper to represent the national team), and by the end of the year, they were working on the beginnings of Golden Lion Cider. Eight years later, the pair now run one of Bogotá’s biggest craft booze success stories.

Hailing from the small town of Timaru, just south of Christchurch, Dan has a background in homebrewing and spent five years in England before arriving here in Bogotá. As the cidery’s slogan quite literally states, that’s where the inspiration originally came from. 

Starting the country’s first ever cider business hasn’t been nearly as straightforward as one might have expected it to be. Invima (Colombia’s national medication, food and beverage regulator) threw up hurdle after hurdle (even at one stage claiming that the product needed to be made in a specific area of Europe in order to be called cider) at the trailblazers. At one stage they spent eight months just paying rent and awaiting certification before being able to sell their product. Dan and Andrés insisted on playing it by the book and in 2017, they finally managed to sell the country’s first ever nationally licensed bottle of cider. 

There’s no argument that it was worth the wait though. Golden Lion currently has the capacity to pump out 10,000L of cider a month and their product can be found all over the city, including on the shelves of Carulla. Dan still hopes that he and Andrés can grow their influence over Colombian drinking preferences, and the former seems to welcome any future competition with open arms – ‘The difficult thing is getting people to try cider in the first place’, he says. ‘The more cider that’s here, the more likely people are to try it.’

The cider

Golden Lion Cider is made with apple juice imported from Chile and Argentina. They use a mix of juice from six different varieties of apples, in order to blend in varying degrees of acidity, sweetness and bitterness. The fermentation is slow and controlled over 4-5 weeks to maximise flavour and quality consistency.

The cider starts off sweet with a touch of bitterness to follow, before a tart, dry after-taste. It’s refreshing, as crisp as the apples it’s made from, and perfect for those glorious Bogotá days when the sun’s out. 

How to get ‘em

Other than popping into your local Carulla, the easiest way to get hold of Golden Lion is to jump on their website. They sell by six-pack, 12 pack and cases of 24, which will set you back COP$30,000, $50,000 and $95,000 respectively. Delivery goes out within 48 hours (except for 

weekends) and generally costs around $6,000, depending on where you are. Various pubs also have it on tap.

You can pay through the website or directly into the company’s Bancolombia account.

The post Golden lion cider: not beer but delicious appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

Latin America (LATAM) is currently at a pivotal point for Venture Capital (VC). The region had a hallmark year in investment in 2021, but as they say—what goes up, must come down. 

The region isn’t alone in its investment slowdown, however. Overall, global venture funding is down significantly, according to Crunchbase—mostly as a result of numbers being compared to record highs. And naturally, when records are set, a slowdown is not only predictable but is sometimes even projected. 

This past spring, the Latin American Business Associations (LABA) VC conference made this very prediction for LATAM’s regional market. Leaders forecasted this partly because LATAM still lacks a lot of the entrepreneurial infrastructure that startups need, such as more seed investors and better infrastructure. 

But not all hope is lost. 

In an interview with Bloomberg Linea, Carlos Ramos De la Vega, the VC director for LAVCA, an association for private capital in Latin America, said there is still a positive outlook for LATAM. According to the association’s data, 2022 is already the region’s second-strongest year for LATAM’s VC—meaning that the movements made by founders and investors on the ground floor will be critical for where the business sector lands at the end of 2022.

For Colombia, this slowdown could actually be an excellent opportunity to achieve certain benchmarks that need to improve in order to be more competitive in the LATAM VC landscape. 

Fostering the growth of its technological infrastructure, building strategies that help pique the interest of both local and international investors, and developing a supportive network for entrepreneurs on the ground floor will help Colombia evolve into a more mature player in the  LATAM business ecosystem.

Stage 1: Fostering Colombia’s Technological Boom

As of 2022, Colombia is one of the top economic contenders in LATAM alongside Mexico and Brazil, and the country’s economic year in 2021 blew away forecasts—growing at the fastest pace seen in more than a century. This has a lot to do with the country quickly getting on board with digital implementation, allowing modern industry to hit its stride. With much of Colombia’s economic rebound between 2021-2022 due to the technology industry, the country is experiencing a technological renaissance.

Out of the roughly 50 million Colombians, nearly 34 million started using the Internet following the onset of the pandemic, of which about 22 million then became regular online shopping users. According to the Colombian Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CCCE), in 2021, eCommerce remained at levels of more than double what was registered in 2019—even when physical stores had reopened their doors.

“The e-commerce sector went from being considered as a complementary sales channel to becoming the engine for economic reactivation,” said María Fernanda Quiñones, executive president of the Colombian Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CCCE).

This interest in the digital interface is good for innovation and local startups looking to lead the technological transformation. Yet, only 2% of Colombian companies carry out cross-border operations through electronic channels—making for some seriously untapped potential in the country’s online market. The CCCE is one governmental entity currently taking steps to implement infrastructure that will help get the ball rolling for companies wishing to digitize operations. 

“We recently launched eXporta.online, a free digital platform which is sponsored by Google. The platform seeks to prepare people, medium to small enterprises, and entrepreneurs for cross-border electronic commerce,” continued Quiñones. 

The platform analyzes close to 1,517 data points collected from different sources such as the World Bank, UNCTAD, and International Trade Center, among others. The data then creates an automated process that provides recommendations for the three best destination market options for companies who are looking to start utilizing eCommerce. The engine chooses these destinations based on the ideal confluence of demand, market stability, eCommerce, language, and access to that company’s product.

“Through cross-border e-commerce, businesses have the opportunity to diversify their market and not depend solely on the local economy,” said Quiñones. “In addition, strategic alliances can be created abroad that allow businesses to gain experience and become more competitive, expand opportunities, and increase their sales capacity.”

Digitizing commerce will be vital for ensuring that Colombia can remain competitive within the larger regional and international business markets. Now technologically primed and ready, the country can provide new opportunities to startups hailing from the country.

Stage 2: Transitioning Colombian VC From Seed to Series A 

Within the last decade, VCs from all over have been looking to Colombia for investments. Thanks to startups showing significant growth in both size and number, the VC sphere in the country has seen a noteworthy upward trend. 

This is backed by 2021’s numbers, as Colombia increased its overall value of funding to $1.24 billion—making for a 144% increase compared to 2020. Rappi is one example from the country that has helped to prove Colombian startups have the capacity to increase their valuations tenfold and build multi-billion USD companies. 

But this unicorn was the first of its kind, and there are many other startups in the ecosystem wondering how they can also see this kind of success.

“Startups have to show their path to profitability,” says Diego Noriega, Managing Partner at Newtopia, a venture capital firm that has made 60% of its most recent investments in Colombia. “It doesn’t always have to be immediate, but investors are preferring startups that have done their homework in making their company robust and know how to scale themselves.” 

According to the most recent Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), carried out by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Colombia actually presents the best conditions for entrepreneurship out of all the countries in LATAM. Investors’ confidence in the country has also grown at a global level, with Colombia now ranking at 25 as an investment destination worldwide. 

Global investors often inspire the growth of capital into emerging markets. With international investor notoriety, a ripple effect in funding occurs, leading to investment from multiple local sources and leveling up the market. This gives growing startups access to the knowledge and resources it takes to scale globally. It also means that founders and their teams must step up to the new level of play.

“At the beginning of a startup’s lifecycle, trust (from investors) is built around the problem that the company is solving, as well as their internal team. But, for Series A the game changes dramatically,” says Noriega. “Startups are not going to reach Series A unless they can show metrics that they can do so. There is no magic trick to fast-track this. Companies must achieve revenues and growth rates that show traction to get the interest from VCs who invest at this level.”

The next critical step for Colombia’s emerging businesses is to show investors that they have what it takes to climb the investment ladder from the seed stages to Series A—helping to propel the country to new entrepreneurial heights.

Stage 3: Creating a Supportive Startup Ecosystem

With digital transformation well on its way, and increasing interest from local and foreign investors, Colombia’s last step in maintaining competitiveness in LATAM commerce will be to build a supportive network for startups and enterprises alike. This is especially important in the current funding drought, and even more critical for developing startups that are just coming into their own.

According to Embroker, about 70% of startups fail during years two to five. This phase of hardship is termed “The valley of death”, and typically occurs after the company launches a product but has not yet seen any revenue. For Colombian companies navigating these growing pains, experiential insight can go a long way.

“The CCCE understands the importance of the country’s medium to small enterprises. This is why we seek to create a large community of companies, brands, and people with immense relationship potential that everyone can benefit from,” said Quiñones. “Training is still needed to develop new skills for entrepreneurs in their digital appropriation process. Understanding the importance of business models in digital commerce will make it easier to complete and foster sustainable digital transformation over time.”

The CCCE offers asynchronous courses that guide business owners and entrepreneurs in the construction of their internationalization plans. By improving the business sector’s digital literacy, and working on the articulation of state policies, they hope to promote the adoption of technology to both mature and emerging companies.

Startups also need to understand how the global marketplace works in Colombia, and this is where more seasoned players can come in to help support young startups. The insight of those who have come before them will help emerging companies understand the complexities of the business market within Colombia. 

Newtopia, a hands-on VC firm based in Argentina, is helping to connect startups from either side of the growth spectrum in the Colombian community. One of the most active venture capital firms in LATAM, Newtopia, recently arrived in Colombia to join the country’s entrepreneurs as they find the right product-market fit. Newtopia offers a hands-on mentorship model that guides startups through the more vulnerable initial stages—helping them to grow sustainably.

“Early-stage growth is vital. Without this, it’s impossible to achieve later stages. Latin America is a higher-risk market because sometimes there is no traction and in some cases, no product or revenue—a risk not many VCs are willing to take. At Newtopia we aim to help build startup-to-startup relationships to create healthier local, and thereby regional, ecosystems.”

Each semester, the VC accepts 10-15 startups for a 10-week program, filled with content and advice to help teams take their startups to the next level. The aim of the program is to share knowledge, channel smart money, and enhance experiences for early-stage startups. This week, the VC hosted a demo day in the capital city of Bogota, bringing startups together to exchange knowledge on navigating Colombia’s startup ecosystem.

This limited partner (LP) day was an opportunity for Colombian startups to pitch to Newtopia´s team, plus LPs, and investors hailing from top VCs in the US. Up-and-coming Colombian startups such as Beu, Ubanku, Lizit, Creditop, Orkid, and Alfred were all a part of the session. 

A Future for Colombia’s Entrepreneurial Community 

For Colombia to continue its consistent climb as one of the region’s most viable markets for startups, young companies must show VCs that they can achieve bigger outcomes—which will allow the ecosystem as a whole to graduate to the next level. 

“We must work together, as a society, to articulate the factors that will lead us to a digital as well as an inclusive economy,” said Quiñones. “This will help to promote the country as a business leader in the region.”

The future of Colombia’s startup community is bright, but ensuring that each one of these stages is achieved along the way will help the country commence a new wave of impacting startups for both the LATAM and global markets. 

Disclaimer: This article mentions a client of an Espacio portfolio company. 

The post Fueling The Startup Ecosystem: The Stages of VC Evolution in Colombia appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

Startups from every corner of the map had a tough time in 2022, with global VC funding down 69% from $70 billion in November 2021. In the European Union (EU), the aftershocks of this financial hit were felt unequally amongst its member countries, however, on account of an imbalanced startup ecosystem.

The majority of fundraising for EU startups takes place in the West, accounting for 60.4% of private equity in 2021, with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) only receiving 1% of funding, according to the most recent data from Invest Europe. Widening the gap are structural disparities in access to technology and digitization amongst member countries.

According to a report by the European Commission, the EU needs to stay vigilant in its regulation of competition amongst its member states, especially in the current post-crisis rehabilitation. 

BEYOND, a consortium of investors and accelerators backed by the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, is spearheading an initiative to help close the funding gap in Europe and establish a more cohesive and prosperous economic network. 

“We recognize the importance of balancing the opportunities provided to startups across the EU. If we don’t act now to narrow the gap between mature and emerging startup ecosystems, Europe’s business ecosystem as a whole will suffer,” said Jesus Tapia, Head of the ISDI Accelerator and one of the BEYOND partners.

“BEYOND is a platform that connects startups, investors, accelerators, and business mentors from across the EU and provides a framework for trust, collaboration, and sharing resources that will uplift emerging players, making the whole ecosystem stronger,” he said.

Equity in entrepreneurship

Europe offers a startup landscape much different from the US because its hubs of entrepreneurship aren’t concentrated in select cities, such as Silicon Valley. According to McKinsey, only 30% of European startups have located their headquarters to hubs such as Paris or Stockholm. 

With a completely decentralized startup space, a huge opportunity for new hubs to be established exists. This allows startups to establish themselves freely across locations and invites the opportunity for programs that encourage entrepreneur mobility. 

One such program is BEYOND, which was created by a consortium of partners across Europe, including: 

• Accelerace, a Scandinavian accelerator that’s helped to grow 800+ startups including Trustpilot, Templafy, and Densou. (Denmark) 
• ISDI Accelerator, the venture builder from one of Spain’s leading business schools. (Spain)
• FundingBox, a European Deep Tech funding ecosystem that counts over 470 startups accelerated and €80 million under management. (Denmark/Poland)
• Overkill Ventures, a leading Nordic-based angel fund investing up to €200,000 in early-stage companies. (Latvia) 
• XLRadar, an accelerator program in different verticals for pre-revenue startups that awards equity investments of up to €50,000 + follow-on as well as many added-value services. XLRadar is backed by Sofia-based venture capital firm Innovation Capital. (Bulgaria)

BEYOND is a platform where leading influencers from more developed ecosystems in Europe can help to create stronger pathways to lesser-known but still thriving startup ecosystems. 

Through its Virtual Accelerator Marketplace (VAM), the BEYOND platform directs investment flows from more developed ecosystems toward emerging ones, according to a press release shared with The Sociable. 

The VAM performs a variety of tasks to increase the effectiveness and dependability of investment between EU nations, thereby promoting a healthier, more diverse, and more inclusive network of startups within the larger EU business ecosystem.

Initiatives for inclusiveness

Startups have had their endurance tested by a multitude of factors in 2022, but none more so challenging than the funding lull. According to the consortium, filling out applications for funding opportunities from organizations such as the European Commission, as well as publicly available funding opportunities from VCs and corporations, can take founders as much as 150 hours. 

To try and mitigate this, some of the BEYOND program’s initiatives include: 

• The development of a cross-border funding passport, called OnePass, that streamlines startup fundraising while also making it easier for investors to invest in them. 
• An acceleration approach that can be used by both mature and emerging ecosystems to build trust and exchange resources. 
• A marketplace where platform partners’ resources are available to companies (including accelerators and investors). 
• A reward system for partners so they can profit from adding value for startups. 
• A global marketplace for startup investment.

OnePass will serve as a centralized platform, allowing startup founders to submit a single application to gain access to curated financing and funding opportunities, as well as customized mentoring, training, and acceleration while lowering the barriers to securing investment. 

Additionally, the OnePass funding passport provides investors with access to vetted, trustworthy entrepreneurs from all over Europe. Meanwhile, it assists accelerators and incubators in matching their programs with qualified applicants, providing certificates upon completion, and significantly reducing the amount of time applicants must spend on the application process.

Funding for all

Cross-integration between Europe’s mature and emerging markets will be vital for the future of entrepreneurialism in the union. 

By helping local startups secure funding from larger EU investors, initiatives such as BEYOND can inspire capital holders from Eastern Europe who have traditionally refrained from funding to be motivated to get into the VC game. This will encourage and attract founders to launch companies in more countries and can facilitate a more cohesive yet diverse ecosystem. 

Furthermore, the BEYOND program will help startups in the EU to achieve greater exposure and connections, while also enabling investors to get to know promising young businesses —  helping to build synergy amongst all of the EU’s players. 

Disclosure: This article mentions a client of an Espacio portfolio company.

The post There’s a funding gap for startups in Europe. BEYOND has launched to close it.  appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

Daniela Restrepo, a Colombian PR professional who lives in Pereira, who studied marketing and communication prior to working in international brand management and strategy execution, has been supporting companies in PR fro close to a decade, while also serving as a Mentor at the Founder institute.

For International Women’s Day, we had the opportunity to ask her for advice for founders looking to approach the Colombian media market, with a focus on female entrepreneurs.

Tell us what tips women entrepreneurs can use to start doing public relations for their startup. What would those first steps be to understand how to start connecting:

Public relations is an important element in supporting the reach and value of a brand for all stakeholders. All the corporate elements of the brand, from the tone and personality, the functional and emotional benefits, the central message, the final objective, and even its reputation -if they are fully harnessed with the internal and external public- can help to increase the performance, credibility and return of a brand or company.

Define your objective: What is the result you expect or seek from your efforts through public relations? Is it visibility? Do you want to position your CEO? Are you looking for traffic on your website?

Define your audience: Before you start creating any public relations strategy, you must clearly define who you are talking to. Who are they? What interests you? What problems do they face? This will help you create narratives and angles that resonate with them.

Create relevant and compelling stories: Good public relations is all about telling a fresh, interesting and compelling story around your industry. Identify the unique aspects of your venture and create coherent narratives aligned with your purpose.

Identify your relevant media: Investigate the media that are relevant to your business, specialized publications, podcasts, influencers, among others. Look for opportunities to connect, build relationships and collaborate with them, bringing actionable insights.

Connect with journalists: As you identify your relevant outlets, look for journalists who cover the issues related to your business and industry. You can follow them on social networks, initiate contact and keep them updated about the news of your venture.

Create quality content: The creation of quality content is a fundamental part of any public relations strategy. Publish articles on your blog, create infographics, post opinions about big news in your industry, and more. The key is to create content that is valuable and relevant to your audience.

Maintain an active presence on social networks: Social networks such as LinkedIn or Twitter are an excellent way to reach your audience and keep it updated.

Why and how can Social Media and Public Relations strategies create identity and credibility of my brand?
As I mentioned earlier, a recurring and well-executed social presence allows you to create relevant and useful content for your audience, which can increase your brand visibility and generate an emotional connection with followers.

On the other hand, a Public Relations strategy keeps you in permanent contact with journalists and the media, which can increase the exposure of your brand and establish it as a reliable source of information. Journalists often look for the prior presence of your startup in the media to verify its credibility, and an effective PR strategy can ensure that your brand is present and seen positively in those media.

Strategies to facilitate meetings between investors and audiences.
Attending industry events to which your venture belongs allows you to start building relationships, stay current, and be on the radar of investors and potential customers.
Apply to venture capital funds and investment programs in your country to present your business and get appointments with investors.

Enroll in pre-seed accelerators that accompany you throughout the process and help you shape your ideas and your final product/service.
Monitor the networks of the investors you are looking for, pay attention to your venture to find out their tastes and preferences.
Make a calendar of events relevant to your industry and the investors you are looking for, to provide more networking spaces.
How to identify which communication channels are best suited to my business model?
They say that if you don’t try, you’ll never know. This is the case with the different resources that you have available through a PR strategy, articles, blogs, podcasts, events, interviews, all of the above represents an opportunity to make your venture and your voice known. Many startups feel more affinity for speaking at interviews or events, others connect better with their audience through written articles. So I would not dare to say that there is a suitable channel for each business model, the more channels explored and a presence achieved, the better. Of course, always evaluating how linked it is to the objective sought with the PR actions.

How to stand out in the eyes of investors, press and clients?
Definitely, a solid public relations strategy focused on “brand awareness” or brand presence can be key to obtaining multiple benefits when looking for investors. By implementing this strategy, the press, investors and potential clients are provided with various sources of information about the news, capabilities and services of your venture.

Brand presence is essential for any business, since it allows consumers to easily identify the company, its products or services in the market. In addition to improving brand visibility, it can help build your business’s reputation and improve consumer trust; especially important factors when looking for investment.

Digital support tools that can be used to strengthen the media strategy and brand positioning.
Social networks

Web page

Blogging

Importance of the perception of the CEO’s image as accessible and close within storytelling.
The perception of the CEO’s image as accessible and close is crucial for a successful company. A CEO must be able to balance his leadership skills and business skills with the ability to learn and connect with his team on a personal level. Humility is essential to understand that a company depends on teamwork and the dedication of its employees.

In today’s business world, the image of a humane, inclusive, values-based CEO has become increasingly important. The way the CEO presents himself to the public and how he relates to his team and the media is crucial to the perception of his company and industry. A CEO who seeks to have an inclusive and positive impact not only on his company, but on society as a whole, is seen as an exceptional leader and is often admired by his employees and the community at large.

How to challenge gender stereotypes through egalitarian advertising, which includes the gender perspective in communication.
It is an important business responsibility that can have a significant impact on society, the team and the relationships between men and women and their roles within a company, providing equal value to both.

This can be mitigated by avoiding traditional gender roles, implementing and executing diversity programs in different areas of the company and having it reflected in company communications, empowering women on teams to discover their potential, emphasizing on gender equality as a premise and pillar of the company, and Considering both genders during decision-making in each company process are some of the things with which you can start to make a significant change from the inside out.

The rate of female entrepreneurship in Latin America in 2021 was described as one of the lowest according to the Mastercard Index of women entrepreneurs.

However, according to the data offered by the World Bank, female entrepreneurship in Latin America has reached 50% during the year 2022, data that encourages us to share information that trains in education related to the success of their projects, as well as giving visibility of them, so that every day the statistics grow in our favor.

The post Interview with Colombia PR pro Daniela Restrepo appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

Colombia is off to the polls in a little under a month, but what’s at stake and what could happen? And why can’t you have a drink while watching results roll in?

Every Colombian over the age of majority (18) and with a correctly registered cédula ciudandanía can vote. In return, each voter gets a half day off work. Non-citizens are not eligible to vote in national elections, but holders of resident visas will be able to vote in next year’s local elections.

The polls are open from 8am until 4pm and counting is usually very fast with the first results coming in just an hour or so later. Due to the PR system (see below), final results come through in the week. 

Land and fluvial borders will be closed for Colombian nationals on the day of the election, although foreigners can cross. From the Saturday afternoon before voting until the Monday morning, ley seca will apply, meaning no alcohol sales in bars, restaurants or shops. That applies for everyone, so no representation or boozing.

Oversight is carried out by the CNE (Consejo Nacional Electoral). In order to do this over the vast territory and number of stations, over 800,000 citizens are selected to be vote-counters. This is similar to jury duty in other countries and is compensated with a day off as well as a compulsory day of training a couple of weeks beforehand.

As the electorate is growing, there are now some 13,000 voting sites across the country, most with multiple voting tables. Colombians have to vote where their cédula is registered, so don’t be surprised to see some people trekking to other cities if they forgot to update their registration.

Some parties run a closed list system, meaning you simply vote for them, whereas others have open lists, meaning you vote for the party and can also vote for your preferred candidate within the party. For closed lists, the party will decide who enters congress, with an open list it will be done in order of preference.

A smidgen under 50% turnout is common for house elections, with higher figures expected for the presidential elections later this year. The Colombian parliament is a bicameral system with the Senate acting as the upper and more powerful house and the Cámara the lower house.

Most parties do not really have well-defined manifestos as such, although better-funded candidates will give a range of positions on matters. In general, there will simply be slogans and general aims that give voters an idea of where their candidates stand.

Who’s up for election?

With a PR system in place there are a plethora of parties to peruse. The country was dominated for decades by the Conservadores and Liberales and both remain strong across the country. In recent years they’ve been joined by the Centro Democrático as the third force. Expect all three to do well.

Mid-level parties include the likes of the right-wing Cambio Radical, particularly strong on the Caribbean, centrist (and not ecologically centred) Alianza Verde and ex-president Santos’ centrist partido de la U. The last election saw the leftist Colombia Humana rocket up to join these blocs.

Then there are the smaller parties, often operating essentially as almost one-man-bands. These usually have an enormous amount of support in a particular area or for a certain candidate but fail to translate this to a wider audience. It’s common to see them banding together, as with the governing coalition Pacto Histórico.

Finally, there are guaranteed seats in both the Senate and Cámara for certain groups and people. This year sees the Comunes party no longer receiving an automatic five seats in both houses that they had in the last two votes as part of the peace process. 

If you are a fan of PR, this system allows a diverse number of voices to be heard and limits the power of government, especially when there is opposition to their plans. For those more cynically-minded, it is a way to make sure that little gets done and few significant bills are passed.

There’s also the curious option of voto en blanco. Different from a spoiled vote, which is simply disregarded, this is an active protest. If it ranks highest in any race, then a rerun of the election must take place within a month with entirely new candidates and/or party lists. 

Colombian Senate Elections 2026

The Senate now has 103 seats (known as curules) and is the upper house in the bicameral system. Of those, a straight 100 are chosen by the electorate as a whole, while Indigenous communities select a further two and the runner-up in the presidential election will receive the final seat.

The Senate currently boasts a whopping 17 parties, but only six of those have double figure representation with the Conservadores’ 15 being the biggest single group. 26 parties are running 1,000 candidates between them this time. Voting is done on a national basis and tallied up across the territory, meaning this takes a little while to work out.

While there is a diverse group of parties, they hang together in loose blocs roughly delineated as government, opposition and neutral. With the government only controlling 34 curules and the opposition 24, the neutrals are incredibly important for horse-trading.

This will be a huge litmus test for the ruling leftist bloc. They will lose their guaranteed  Comunes seats, so any further losses will be highly problematic. On the other hand, gaining curules would be a huge shot in the arm in terms of public support, hence why they are campaigning in places like Huila, outside of their traditional strongholds.

The most likely outcome is that there will be little change in the makeup of the Senate, with neither the government nor opposition likely to take outright control or make large gains. Whichever of those two groups increases their representation will quickly turn it into a sign that they are on the right track and use that as support for their presidential campaign.

Cámara de Representantes election Colombia 2026

The lower chamber, too, is also up for election. It is significantly larger, with 188 seats and 23 parties. The government is also in a minority here and relies on support from independents to get things done. There are over 2,000 candidates representing nearly 500 parties, or listas of similar candidates.

The key difference in voting here is that it is largely territorial, with 161 seats divided between the departments and Bogotá, DC. The latter returns the most seats, with 18, closely followed by Antioquia with one fewer. Colombians living abroad and voting in embassies get one between them

However, these are not equal, as departments receive at least two seats, meaning Vaupés gets one representative for every 20,000 or so people, while the national average is more like 300,000. Changes in population have led to odd situations like Caldas returning more representantes (5) than Cauca (four) despite only having ⅔ of its population.

Then there are the special seats. Again, the Comunes party will lose their five extra seats in this term and it is also the last election to feature the 16 seats reserved for conflict victims. Colombians of Afro descent get two seats, while Indigenous Colombians and raizales from San Andres and Providencia have one apiece and the VP runner-up rounds it out.

Consultas for the presidential election

Just in case you thought there was enough on the plate, there are further considerations at stake. To avoid spreading the vote, various presidential candidates with similar positions group together for a preliminary vote. The losers in each consulta will drop out on March 9th. This year there are three on the voting card.

The biggest of these with 9 names is the Gran Consulta Por Colombia, which stretches the credibility of political similarity. It’s nominally centrist but features prominent rightists Vicky Dávila and Paloma Valencia alongside traditional centre voices such as Enrique Peñalosa and Juan David Oviedo. The latter is also the Centro Democrático candidate. 

The leftist consulta is under intense scrutiny as candidate Iván Cepeda, currently leading the polls, was blocked from taking part. That led to further withdrawals and angry denunciations from Cépeda and sitting president Gustavo Petro. Roy Barreras is now the favourite to win this five person race.

Then there’s a centrist competition between former Bogotá mayor Claudia López and little-known candidate Leonardo Huerta. López is the clear favourite here after perennial runner Sergio Fajardo chose to go directly to the first round of presidential voting.

At the moment, the presidential campaign is very unclear. Iván Cepeda leads polling and is extremely unlikely not to make the second round. Who joins him is hard to see at this point, so the consultas will trim that field significantly.

While the Senate and Cámara will be decided by mid-March, this is only the first lap of the field for the presidential candidates. Some will fall out, others will consolidate their position and things will start changing throughout the spring until the May 31st first round.

The post Colombian Elections 2026: How do they work? appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

A week on from the extraordinary events of the third of January, where does Colombia stand, what happens next and what do people think?

Despite aggressive rhetoric, Colombian president Gustavo Petro and US president Donald Trump have ended up on relatively good terms over the last week after Maduro’s capture, and for now there appears to be a wary calm between the Palacio Nariño and the White House. It’s too early to talk of a bromance, but there’s certainly been a rapid de-escalation.

The US president pointedly praised Petro’s tone in his tweet after they spoke over the phone on Wednesday, indicating that the Colombian president had been rather less bullish one on one compared to his public speeches and tweets.

Petro also seems happy with the conversation, saying that he had cleared the air and underlining that he is not connected to the illegal drug trade. He pointed out that he has stepped up seizures of drugs and has in fact been threatened various times over his life by drug cartels.

Esto es Histórico.

Hablaremos con Trump, de la Paz del Continente, de la soberanía , de un Pacto por la Vida basado en las energías limpias. Se puede descarbonizar la matriz de EEUU si se vuelve real el potencial de energías limpias de Suramérica pic.twitter.com/0bqPP2lAYe

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 8, 2026

Petro had criticised his counterpart in the White House all week, convened protests against the US military’s actions in Venezuela and called an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, of which Colombia is a temporary member.

However, Petro appears to have struck a far more conciliatory note when actually talking to the US president on Wednesday. For his part, Donald Trump also turned down the heat, saying it was a great honour to speak with the Colombian president and that they would talk further in person at the White House.

Petro has confirmed that this will take place in the first week of February. He’s also invited interim Venezuelan president Delcy Rodríguez to visit the Palacio Nariño for talks.

Alongside his usual flurry of tweets, Petro had been setting this in motion, with his Interior Minister (and former ambassador to Venezuela) Armando Benedetti sending a memo to the US underlining their commitment to fighting drug production.

Antagonism serves both sides

Petro has been highly critical of Trump’s actions in the Caribbean from the outset. He has warned Trump “not to wake the jaguar” and denounced his strikes on boats over the last few months.

Bad blood between the pair goes back a long way, but has really ramped up in recent weeks. Even before the extraordinary events of last weekend, Petro’s fierce criticism of the military build up in the Caribbean had led to him and his estranged wife Veronica Alcócer being stuck on the Clinton List.

The truth is that antagonistic public rhetoric plays well for both Petro and Trump, regardless of how much damage it may do to the reputation of either country. They both get to play the big man and impress their base, which both need right now in the face of domestic woes.

Presidente Donald J. Trump sobre la llamada con el Presidente Gustavo Petro: https://t.co/1lTgSYF8hb

— US Embassy Bogota (@USEmbassyBogota) January 8, 2026

Trump doesn’t seem to mind Petro’s words, as long as he gets his way. That fits with his previous actions, including his fallout when running against current Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He says Petro’s been very hostile, but that’s all in the past.

For Petro, this also sets him up nicely for his post-presidential life. In an interview this week he expressed a desire to tour the world speaking at conferences and the international exposure this week has been good for that. On top of that, Trump will likely lift the restrictions on him and his family as a reward for toeing the US line.

What’s the feeling in the calles?

One could have been forgiven for not noticing the midweek protests. Despite the best efforts of hyperbolic foreign journos, Bogotá has been far from a seething cauldron of dissent. In reality, a few hundred Petro diehards trooped out as expected.

Most Colombians are well aware of the reality of Maduro’s rule and the abuses carried out in its name. Apart from a very few outliers, there is no love lost for Nicolás Maduro and an overwhelming satisfaction that he’s no longer Venezuelan president.

That’s not to say, though, that Colombians are wildly happy about the current situation. Colombia is a very different country to her neighbour, but there remains a relatively well-founded concern among many that there may be attacks on Colombian territory.

Anti-American sentiment is not exactly thriving, but graffiti and the like is already going up in certain parts of the city. There’s little to no appetite in the country for any US military activity in Colombia, even against cartels or guerrillas.

Worries still linger over the possibility of other repercussions. The waits for American visas have only just started to come down, with new appointments a year hence. Many worry that will increase again and that extant visas for expat Colombians may be affected too.

Tariffs, too, are never far from people’s minds, although Trump’s current position towards Colombia seems to be benign. Tourism will possibly be affected, both in the short and medium term.

Of course, Bogotá has a thriving Venezuelan expat community as well. While there is general delight at Maduro being arrested, there remain justifiable fears over what comes next. Delcy Rodríguez is seemingly no-one’s first choice and most hope for the promise of free and fair elections.

The Plaza de Bolívar and many others around both Bogotá and Colombia have seen large groups of Venezuelans gathering both to celebrate Maduro’s fall and to call for a transition towards a proper democracy. Most, however, are just getting on with life and wary of reading too much into things at present.

A particular trend has been for exiled Venezuelans to take to social media in order to decry what they often see as ‘Venezuelasplaining’. Many accounts are keen to point out that while the US might only be interested in oil, neither were China, Russia and Iran after arepa recipes.

Venezuelan man:

“Those who say that the U.S. is only interested in our oil, I ask you: What do you think the Russians and the Chinese wanted here?

The recipe for arepas?" pic.twitter.com/BWpCmCxFGI

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 4, 2026

As for other Colombian politicians, there’s been a mixed reaction. The Centro Democrático has had a well-coordinated and fierce response, aggressively trying to connect Petro and his allies to Maduro, with some success.

Others are resisting the temptation to use Venezuela as a political football, preferring to cautiously celebrate Maduro’s capture while expressing concern both about the manner it was done and the current political inclarity in the country.

What happens next?

For now, Delcy Rodríguez appears to be in control of Venezuela. She’s been sworn in as president and Trump says she’s committed to working with Washington. That means allowing US oil companies in, buying American goods and stopping shadow fleet sales.

While Trump had initially been dismissive of Maria Corina Machado, saying she had little support or respect in Venezuela, he’s changed his position a little and has a meeting lined up with her soon. This may be connected to her apparent offer to share her Nobel Peace Prize with him.

Regime enforcers have been on maneuvers throughout the past week to quieten internal dissent and quell momentum towards thoughts of a full democratic transition. The ELN has stepped up operations near to the Venezuelan border and Iván Mordisco has suggested a coalition of guerrillas to fight interventionism.

Plenty remains unclear about the whole situation. Trump has expressed a lot of opinions and thoughts but hasn’t elaborated on what the details behind any of it might be. There’s also a worrying lack of corroboration from other players. 

Rodríguez and Petro haven’t really confirmed his takes on their talks, nor have oil companies definitively committed to full investment. At the moment, it seems like all parties are reasonably happy with the state of play but keeping options open. 

Petro gets to play the plucky leader standing up to US imperialism, shoring up his party’s base at home ahead of coming elections while burnishing his reputation overseas. Trump gets to be the decisive commander in chief that took out a rival, while Rodríguez has received a promotion.

For now, it really could go in a number of different directions and small actions might be the things that push the country in certain directions. There are lots of cards on the table and plenty of big decisions to be taken.

Worryingly, the most likely scenario at the moment seems to be that the regime continues in power, just with a new leader and a new-found willingness, however reluctant, to work with the USA. For the ordinary Venezuelan, tragically, little much has changed as things stand.

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