In the software industry, most formal training stops at the technical layer. Engineers are taught syntax, frameworks and system design.
In particular, they learn how to develop and ship. However, almost no one teaches them something far more important: how to decide which problems are actually worth their time and energy.
That question sits at the center of the latest season of La Hora del Tech, a podcast by one of Colombia’s leading employers Source Meridian that’s building an audience not by chasing hype, but by challenging it.
As AI continues to impact the industry, the main bottleneck is no longer technical. It’s human. At a certain point, it stops being about what you can build and starts being about how you think.
This tension feels especially relevant in places like Colombia, where the tech ecosystem is growing fast but still navigating its identity. Engineers here are increasingly working with international teams and the most cutting-edge tools, while also dealing with very real questions about balance and long-term growth.
The third season opens with an episode titled “From Los Angeles to Medellín: Building AI Agents Without Burning Out.”
Andrés Restrepo, CTO of Enric AI,
The guest, Andrés Restrepo, CTO of Enric AI, shares what it means to operate between two different cities.
Rather than framing Colombia as a limitation, the conversation explores it as an advantage.
The second episode raises the stakes with a story that breaks away from the usual narrative of constant acceleration.
Aníbal Rojas, former VP of Technology at Platzi, talks about stepping off the fast track at the peak of his career. That pause allowed him to rethink not only how he works, but how he learns and lives.
Instead of consuming generative AI tools at surface level, Rojas chose to deeply understand them. His experience highlights a growing tension in Colombia’s tech scene: the pressure to keep up globally versus the need to build knowledge that actually lasts.
Burnout, technical judgment, and sustainable growth become central themes. The conversation openly addresses something many engineers feel but rarely say: progress shouldn’t come at the cost of exhaustion.
The podcast hosts bring credibility rooted in real-world experience. Hugo Rodríguez, Software Architect and Team Lead at Source Meridian, has spent over a decade in the field and challenges a common assumption: being senior isn’t about knowing everything—it’s about knowing what not to use. His perspective emphasizes building systems that support business goals without breaking the people behind them.
Alongside him, Maria Camila Figueroa of Source Meridian offers a lens that reconnects technology with humanity. From her point of view, every dataset represents people, and every process impacts lives. Her focus on “humanizing agility” resonates strongly in Colombia.
On May 5th, the third episode premieres: “Emotional Debt in Code: Token-Driven Anxiety.” This time, the guest is clinical psychologist Ricardo Duarte, and the topic shifts into territory that most engineering conversations avoid.
What happens when you spend months working on code you know is fragile, rushed, or fundamentally broken?
The episode explores the emotional weight that builds up from technical debt, tight deadlines, and systems no one wants to touch out of fear. It’s a conversation about the hidden cost of development: the stress, the loss of motivation, and the quiet erosion of confidence. These are things that don’t show up in KPIs but often matter more than any production bug.
This season will feature 10 episodes and a diverse set of voices, but its real ambition is grounded in reality. From building AI tools that genuinely support developers, to acknowledging burnout in teams that pretend everything is fine, the podcast leans into honest and necessary discussions.
The startup ecosystem in Medellin has long been a leading success story for both Colombia and Latin America. In recent weeks, the progress of Medellin’s evolution into a knowledge-based economy and hub for innovation has gained even more traction.
Globally, Medellin currently ranks at #145, according to the StartupBlink Ecosystem Index, and holds 5th place regionally in South America. On a national level, the strength and diversity of Medellin’s startup ecosystem is second only to Bogota.
Now, the launch of a new official district-level ranking designed to measure local performance in science, technology, and innovation promises to strengthen the innovation sector in Medellin even further. The “CTi Ecosystem Pulse” (Pulso Ecosistema CTI) is an initiative from the Mayor of Medellin and Ruta-N will provide local organizations with granular data on their performance set against an official innovation benchmark.
The benchmark being rolled out with the CTi Ecosystem Pulse initiative will support organizations in Medellin’s innovation ecosystem to benchmark themselves, make more strategic decisions, and strengthen their national and international positioning.
In addition, Ruta-N also announced that Medellin has been included in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Network of Innovation Ecosystems, a platform that connects 17 cities across the Americas, Europe, and Asia to promote collaboration, shared learning, and the development of innovative solutions.
Here, the WEF recognized the role Ruta-N has played as orchestrator of the innovation ecosystem, connecting companies, academia, the public sector, and civil society to strengthen entrepreneurship. The organization has also been ranked 1st among the country’s public open innovation ecosystems in the 2025 Open Startups 100 ranking.
It’s also interesting to note how quickly Medellin has been able to climb through the rankings in a short span of time. In 2025/2026, the city climbed 17 spots in global rankings and is recognized for having the highest growth among startup ecosystems in South America.
The data, coupled with the new CTi Ecosystem Pulse initiative, suggests that Medellin is expected to continue with this impressive upward trajectory on a national, regional and global scale.
However, this success story has been made possible by three central pillars of innovation: Academia, conferences and local investors. Let’s take a closer look at how these play out across the city.
University Support Nurtures Innovation in Medellin
First of all, universities and academic institutions represent a core pillar of Medellin’s innovation economy.
EAFIT’s Impact Entrepreneurship Center is one academic unit that has played an active role in boosting entrepreneurship in the city. In 2021, EAFIT University’s president, Claudia Restrepo found that less than 5% of the most impactful startups in Colombia had EAFIT alumni as founders.
In response to the data, the university decided to take entrepreneurship out of its academic silo and connect it with the real-world ecosystem by creating the Impact Entrepreneurship Center, known as On.going.
Four years after the initial survey, the center has incubated nearly 190 initiatives. In addition, 40% of these are now formalized ventures, showing why nurturing entrepreneurship in Medellin pays dividends in short time frames.
Under the leadership of Director Tomás Ríos, On.going joined forces with EAFIT, Fundación Fraternidad Medellín and Universidad EIA to establish U Ventures, the first VC fund in Colombia designed to invest in university talent.
“Out of every thousand ideas, maybe four grow and scale,” Ríos explained in an interview with Ana Herazo of Contxto. “To have 40 large companies in the future, you need 10,000 ideas today.”
Medellin conferences boost international collaboration
Events and conferences represent another central pillar within most innovation strategies, and Medellin has also spurred collaboration on an international scale through this channel.
One example of a homegrown initiative can be found with Starter Company, today one of the largest startup events in Latin America. In 2025, Starter Company brought together 13,000 attendees from 20 countries, 340 startups, and more than 160 investment funds.
According to CEO Juan Gabriel Arboleda, part of the reason why Starter Company has found such success is that they don’t try to mimic models from other parts of the world. Instead, they have built something from the ground up that works for entrepreneurs in the region.
Mike Hoey
We can see numerous examples of public-private collaborations that support the rise of tech innovation in Medellin and bring international attention to the city. For example, TECH SPHERE was organized by software development enterprise Source Meridian, 360 Health Data and the Pascual Bravo University Institution. Mike Hoey founded Source Meridian and is one of the city’s leading international tech entrepreneurs.
The conference highlighted Medellin’s role as a catalyst for AI research in Latin America and brought together business execs, researchers, entrepreneurs, and professionals from across sectors and backgrounds to explore how AI can be practically applied to solve real challenges and scale impactful solutions.
While local initiatives play an important role, we can also see the rise of international events choosing to host conferences in Medellin and South America and the region continues to be recognized for its contributions to innovation.
Horasis, a global think tank headquartered in Zurich led by Frank-Jürgen Richter, held the Horasis Global Summit 2025 in Brazil. The event represented the largest meeting the organization has held to date, bringing together 1000 speakers from 50 countries, a testament to the draw of the region.
Horasis Global Meeting in Brazil
Local entrepreneurs and investors solve real-world problems
The final pillar to this success story lies in the presence of eager local entrepreneurs and investors from Medellin. Both the innovator and the investor are integral to the ongoing success of Medellin’s innovation ecosystem.
Its platform, Coralia Health, translates medical knowledge and resources into Spanish through tech-powered automations, meaning physicians in the region now have rapid access to up-to-date, reliable, and relevant information.
Without more support and funding systems like U Ventures to sustain ideas from the earliest stages, the pipeline collapses before it can produce results.
Meanwhile, local innovators have a keen understanding of the gaps in the market and the solutions can drive the most impact.
As Medellin continues to rise through the global innovation rankings, it’s likely to encourage more entrepreneurs to stay and encourage more investors to back high-tech ideas.
Playa Blanca, near Tierra Bomba Island. Credit: David Shankbone via Flickr
According to the United Nations (UN), the world is in an era of “global water bankruptcy.” In Latin America alone, the OECD finds that 17 million people still lack access to safe drinking water. Among those affected are the residents of Tierra Bomba, a small Caribbean island located off the coast of Colombia which faces persistent challenges in obtaining drinking water.
The island, home to an estimated 9,000 people, lacks access to clean water, with residents relying almost entirely on supplies brought in by boat from the mainland.
However, water filtration startup Vital Lyfe and Amigos Del Mar, a local NGO, recently made a breakthrough for the island’s water supply; in November last year, they successfully tested a decentralized water system, which can turn seawater into treated filtered water. So far, 40 families in the area have been helped by the project, benefitting from stable water production with minimal maintenance.
“Everyone knows that water is extremely expensive here,” Marta Maldonado, a Tierra Bomba local, told The Bogotá Post. “One gallon costs three thousand pesos. As a family, we have to buy four gallons of water every single day just to start the day. Many times, the water arrives with a little bit of salt in it, and that has even made us sick.”
For Maldonado, Vital Lyfe and Amigos Del Mar’s work has made drinking water more accessible. “Drinking the water filtered by Tierra Bomba’s technology is something special. It makes me realize that good water has finally arrived here. We have the sea right in front of us, and now, with these machines, clean water becomes possible. For us, it is something essential,” Maldonado said.
Making seawater drinkable
As an island, Tierra Bomba faces significant challenges. For instance, there is a lack of running water and sewage systems, issues with gas access, and inefficient trash collection that can make life difficult for residents.
“One of the biggest problems that we see in Tierra Bomba is clean water access. The water comes by boat, and it can be expensive, inconsistent, and sometimes of questionable quality. The water gets to the island, and people have to go and buy it in one place, making it really hard for some people to carry water to their homes,” Pedro Salazar, president and founder of Amigos Del Mar, told The Bogotá Post.
Amigos del Mar, established in 2015, decided to collaborate with Vital Lyfe to see if there was a way to create more reliable water access for the island. “Water is life. It brings health when a lot of the unsanitary water in the area carries diseases that people have been consuming. The quality of life for the people of Tierra Bomba can become much better, as we have already seen with this pilot, when they have access to good quality water for everything in their lives, from drinking to cleaning to cooking,” Salazar said.
Under the hood
The project uses a portable filtration system built by Vital Lyfe, which offers a high-efficiency purification engine that combines mechanical innovations such as low-cost reverse osmosis membranes, and smart power management to deliver clean water without the industrial footprint normally associated with purification. The device can adapt to the water that is available, using the lowest energy, and implementing the most efficient treatment pathway for that specific source.
This approach enables the system to process naturally occurring water sources, including brackish water, seawater, and freshwater, to eliminate salts and biological contaminants so the water can be made into drinkable, filtered water.
“The project was a great success, with the technology working immediately, providing filtered water for around 40 families in the area. Many more became aware of the system and expressed interest as well, providing a need for more of this kind of tech. The mission achieved field validation for us as well, proving that the technology could work in remote environments with little knowledge or maintenance needed from the local community,” Jon Criss, CEO and co-founder of Vital Lyfe told The Bogotá Post.
Criss notes that the local community assisted with the rollout, unloading and positioning equipment before installation began. The project means that rather than having to rely on a fragile supply chain which is vulnerable to changing weather conditions, community members can enjoy sustainable access to clean water that’s local and scalable.
“For us, this wasn’t just a one-off deployment. It was proof that communities like Tierra Bomba don’t have to stay dependent. There’s real potential here to expand the impact and build something long-term that strengthens resilience and lowers cost at the same time,” Criss said.
While the pilot looks promising, it also remains to be seen if the equipment can sustain prolonged use. In addition, there is more research to be done, to demonstrate that such a filtration solution could provide filtered drinking water to more populated areas.
It’s no secret that Colombia’s startup ecosystem is booming. Over the past few years, the country has emerged as one of the leading business hubs in Latin America.
But where do women fit into the picture? According to KPMG’s latest annual tech report, one in five Colombian founders is a woman. The good news is that there’s a nationwide drive to close the gender gap in leadership, and the numbers are reflecting that: the number of women occupying C-suite roles jumped to 40% in 2025.
As momentum continues to move forward in Colombian entrepreneurship and innovation, here are the 2026 female tech leaders to watch.
Isabella is leading the charge to empower remote workers to gain access to U.S. financial infrastructure. In fact, Midi is the only fintech in Colombia to do so, removing payroll barriers for Colombian-based freelancers. With Colombia ranking among the world’s most prominent leaders for outsourcing talent, Midi’s offering is crucial. Moreover, the startup recently raised $10 million in a funding round, paving the way for accelerated growth.
And Isabella has helped people take leaps and bounds in other ways, too. In 2013, she founded Kangoo Jumps Colombia, where she opened and managed three boutiques in Bogota.
Florence is at the helm of transforming customer engagement across Latin America’s retail landscape. Founded in 2015, Leal 360 now boasts over seven million users and has established partnerships with one thousand brands across eight countries. Leal’s AI software helps businesses access and action powerful customer insights for optimal lifetime value.
In 2025, Leal 360 was recognized by Gartner’s Capterra for being the ‘best ease of use’ CRM platform. This is a testament to Florence and her team’s dedication to making customer engagement easier and smarter.
Having seen multiple sides of private debt, and how convoluted the process can be, Valentina set out to rectify the situation, which led to the founding of Vaas. At just 25 years old, she raised $5 million in seed funding and last year made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
At Vaas, Valentina is helping lead the charge to revolutionize financial infrastructure so it can keep pace with private credit growth. She comes with more than eight years of fintech experience in Latin America, which includes overseeing the financing of 250,000 devices and managing $150 million across top-tier fintechs.
Zaira’s passion for data inspired her to make analytics accessible to everyone—hence, she brought Daxus LATAM to life. Data knowledge has fast become a core skill that’s redefining the future of the workplace. In the span of just three years, Zaira now has 30,000 alumni who have built their knowledge on data and analysis principles via the Daxus learning platform.
She’s also a founding member and principal CEO of Zakidata, helping individuals translate data into powerfully actionable insights. Throughout her career, Zaira has impacted over a million minds to build their data and analytics capabilities.
From law to pageantry to authoring a book to becoming a well-known national TV host, Gabriela’s journey to becoming a tech founder is uniquely impressive. She’s now shifted her focus to behind the camera as the founder and CEO of Idilio TV, Colombia’s first vertical screening platform.
Upon her return to Colombia after completing her MBA at Stanford University, Gabriela quickly realized a massive yet untapped opportunity in Latin America: streaming short-form novelas. All around her, people were streaming Spanish-dubbed Asian micro-dramas. The demand was there, but the natively Spanish supply wasn’t. At Idilio TV, Garbiela and her team are on a mission to create original and entertaining micro-dramas—all in Spanish, and all available from the comfort of your smartphone.
Valentina’s mission is clear: democratize the early detection of breast cancer. One of the world’s deadliest diseases, breast cancer accounts for 27% of cancer cases in Latin America. However, early-stage detection remains elusive for the majority of individuals.
Valentina and the team at Salva Health are changing that with their cutting-edge technology, Julieta, which uses electrical bioimpedance technology to assess how breast tissue responds to small, safe, and painless currents.
Manuela has forged a strong career, helping international entrepreneurs create and refine their offerings through her expertise in visual design and UI/UX. Now, she’s running projects at Source Meridian, a Medellin-based healthcare software innovator, and 360 Health Data, a startup transforming medical knowledge in Latin America. Manuela’s leadership at the two companies not only enables her to propel tech innovation in Colombia but also directly impacts local communities to access better health opportunities.
Legal frameworks matter just as much as technical ones in startups, and Estefania has built and scaled Addi’s legal and compliance function from the ground up. With 15 years of experience, she’s no stranger to the legal intricacies of fintech and the financial world. Her background includes working in the Colombian Securities Exchange and the Colombian Financial Regulator.
Estefania has guided Addi, one of Colombia’s biggest payment apps, through complex equity raises, debt transactions, and the process of becoming a regulated financial institution.
Daniela spent almost a decade managing the legal side of SURA before she moved to VaxThera, a leading biotechnology provider in Colombia. Since joining the company, Daniela has established an important role in ensuring VaxThera’s innovations can reach the public.
Just last year, VaxThera announced a partnership with the Colombian Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Health to strengthen health sovereignty across the nation. VaxThera also announced its partnership with Seguros SURA to launch the region’s largest HPV program in the bid to prevent cervical cancer.
Daniela leads strategic initiatives at Publicize, a global PR firm serving technology startups and Fortune 1000 enterprises from its hubs in Medellin and Barcelona. As a graduate of Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Social Communications and PR, she leverages her academic background and industry expertise to position clients at the forefront of the media landscape.
Beyond her executive role, Daniela is a driving force in the ecosystem, actively mentoring talent at both the Founder Institute, Universities and top tech events. Her industry authority is further recognized through her contributions to Entrepreneur Magazine and Forbes, her speaking engagements at conferences like TechBeach, and her recent role as a Judge for Colombia’s National Digital Journalism Award.
Innovation needs talent to thrive, and Paula is ensuring this need is constantly met so Somos Internet can continue to scale its software and services in more than 50,000 Colombian households.
Late last year, Somos Internet raised $18 million in Series A funding, a significant chunk of which will go to strengthening the company’s engineering and operations teams. As the head of culture and recruitment, Paula has a major role to play in ensuring talent continues to be nurtured and innovation propelled.
Whether founders, CEO, or heads of departments, Colombian women have carved a firm place in the country’s tech landscape. As 2026 unfolds, keep a pulse on these powerhouses and how they’re helping amplify innovation opportunities for women and men alike.
Laura has dedicated the past 11 years to Source Meridian, evolving from an international business background into a specialized leader in healthcare technology. With a comprehensive 360° view of the software lifecycle, she currently directs cross-functional teams focused on Security and Compliance, successfully guiding clients through rigorous SOC 2, HITRUST, and HIPAA certifications for the U.S. market.
Driven by a spirit of continuous learning and a passion for mentorship, Laura views leadership through a human-centric lens. She is committed to empowering her colleagues to grow from scratch, fostering a collaborative culture where teams succeed united as “galaxies” rather than individual stars, ensuring that technical excellence is always matched by collective professional growth.
If you’re a Mac user who has recently discovered their Logitech mouse or keyboard is not working suddenly, or not working properly with missing customizations and functionality, it might be because of an issue with an expired security certificate with Logitech devices on the Mac. Specifically, if you use Logi Options+ or G HUB with ... Read More
As innovation in Colombia reaches new heights, the country is attracting a new wave of international entrepreneurs.
Colombia has had an incredible year in 2025, establishing itself as a rising star for international business. In fact, the OECD ranked Colombia as the third most entrepreneurial country among its 38 members, thanks to a burgeoning tech and startup scene.
The government is playing an important role in supporting this culture of entrepreneurship, with a commitment to invest $30 billion pesos of capital into the country’s science, technology, and innovation over the next 10 years.
Yet Colombia already has proof of its ability to build and scale startups. In Bogotá alone, there are already 800 venture-funded startups. Meanwhile, Colombia has given rise to two unicorns. Rappi, a well-known trailblazer, is one of these, and is the largest on-demand delivery company that specializes in “quick commerce,” or 10-minute deliveries in Latin America.
A more recent rising star is Habi, the property tech platform that is already the biggest buyer and vendor for used houses in Colombia and México.
This progress has seen foreign capital flowing into Colombia. The country ranks 4th in Latin America for the amount of foreign investment it receives. As a result, Latin American entrepreneurs and innovators are flocking to the country to establish new ventures or expand into Colombia’s thriving tech ecosystem.
From Baranquilla to Bogota, here are the 2026 international innovation leaders to watch in Colombia.
Mike Hoey, Founder of Source Meridian
Mike Hoey is the President and Owner of Source Meridian, a software development company that specializes in life science, big data, business intelligence and machine learning solutions running on commercial clouds.
One of the large tech employers in Colombia, the company’s mission is to provide its customers with early access to cutting-edge technologies, helping their clients to maintain their competitive advantages in the marketplace.
Source Meridian includes a staff of international software engineers and data scientists and has offices in the US and Colombia, including in Medellin, Rionegro and Cali.
Its Founder, Mike Hoey, has long been praised for his mentorship of colleagues.
Alan Gongora, Managing Partner at Langon Law Group
Alan Gongora is the Managing Partner at Langon Law Group, a law firm with offices in the United States and Colombia. His firm works with enterprises across North and South America.
Alan earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and studied at Oxford University and at the University of Michigan where he received his B.A.
Colombia has seen a sizable uptick in the number of companies deciding to expand their operations to this market, with target industries ranging from consumer goods, to technology and telecommunications. Alan Gongora has played an instrumental role in helping these new business ventures navigate the complexities of Colombian business law to drive growth across the country.
Langdon Law is now one of the most prominent law firms in Colombia, with plans for continued growth in 2026.
Francisco (Paco) Solsona, Head of Accelerator of Google
Francisco (Paco) Solsona is the Head of Accelerator & Startup Ecosystem, SpLATAM at Google. He has long been recognized for playing a key role in the region’s tech ecosystem.
According to Contxto, Google has 24 acceleration programs distributed worldwide, with Latin America playing an important role in these programs. A total of 283 startups and developers from their programs are from the region, or 25% of the global total.
Solsona, who was earlier the regional leader of Google for Developers in Latin America, earlier expressed pride in the role that LatAm startups have played since the program’s inception, saying in an interview, “Latin American startups have been part of Google’s acceleration programs since the first Google office in Mountain View, California, in 2016. We started with national and regional programs in 2018, first in Brazil, followed by Mexico, and the rest of the region. We are proud of all the companies that trusted us over the years and started our programs to connect with the best of Google: our people, technology, and global network of mentors and allies.”
Maria Camila Quiñones, Delivery Director at Slalom Consulting
With a career that combines the financial world with sustainable development, Camila Quiñones has established herself as one of the most influential voices in social impact consulting in the region. A leader who has been based in Mexico for a decade, she currently manages projects as Director of Delivery at Slalom Consulting, where she draws on more than 14 years of experience in high-level strategy and implementation.
Her career began in the financial sector, specializing in capital markets, with a focus on technology implementations for treasuries of large banks in Colombia, Panama, and Mexico. However, in 2019, she made a decisive change: she founded and led the social and environmental impact area at a leading Mexican consulting firm, working with organizations that address critical challenges such as education and employability, financial inclusion, and climate action, among others.
An expert in program design, ecosystem mapping, and strategic alliances, Quiñones combines analytical rigor with a transformative vision. Her work not only drives projects forward, but also generates research and innovative thinking, positioning her as a key bridge between the private sector and social development in Latin America.
In a career that has spanned more than two decades at leading healthtech companies and as an Executive Advisor at Blue Mountain Capital, Shahir is shaping the future of data-driven healthcare. As the founder of Veritas Data Research, he champions the use of FAIR principles in health data projects that include transparency, trust and resilience.
To get the best outcomes for patients, healthcare data needs to be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. However, not every region in the world has the same access. To address this, Shahir and a close group of industry veterans launched 360 Health Data to create a bespoke resource platform that connects Spanish-speaking clinicians in Latin America with high-quality medical knowledge.
This will empower healthcare professionals across South America by harnessing the vast potential of scientific research and Real-World Evidence (RWE), providing up-to-date journal articles on all relevant disease areas and comprehensive information on pharmaceuticals and other treatments. As a result, the team at 360 Health Data hopes to foster informed decision-making, improve patient outcomes, and advance the field of medicine.
Jitesh Shetty, CEO of Credibl ESG
Jitesh Shetty is the Founder and CEO of Credibl, a San Francisco-based SaaS company that has a growing presence across Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. At Credibl the team are rethinking sustainability data management across operations, products, supply chains from the ground up to drive sustainable corporate growth with an AI-powered ESG platform.
Shetty’s vision is a world where technology empowers organizations sustainably and drives positive impact. His AI-powered sustainability technology platform for the future of business has helped key players in the ecosystem transform end-to-end sustainability for companies. Its impact has set it apart, making them leaders in the hospitality and textile value chain industries. His company has also improved the sustainability of more than 100 companies worldwide, including enterprise clients such as Amazon, Nvidia, Red Hat Storage, Global Knowledge, and QA.
Earlier, he founded in 2012 Qwiklabs, a large-scale hands-on lab company for software professionals, which he sold to Google in 2016. He is also co-founder and board member of MR Access, a portable MRI company with native AI that, thanks to its innovative design in the healthcare sector, has reduced both capital and operating expenses.
Dr. Jorge Emilio Osorio Benítez, CEO, VaxThera
Dr. Jorge Emilio Osorio Benítez, founder and CEO of VaxThera, is leading Colombia’s push to become a regional biotech hub. A former virologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Osorio returned to his homeland with a mission: “I need to do something for my own country… this is it.”
Founded in 2021 with support from Colombian insurance giant Grupo SURA, VaxThera is headquartered in Rionegro, Antioquia, just minutes from Medellín’s José Maria Córdova International Airport. The company’s state-of-the-art biopark; the first of its kind in Latin America, is capable of producing over 100 million vaccine doses annually. “We took the best technology and equipment from around the world and translated that to the local language here, because nobody here has made a facility like this before,” Osorio said.
VaxThera focuses on tropical and neglected diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and Mpox, while also producing mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. “I’d like to have the concept of health independence, that we can do health sovereignty for the region,” he explained.
Beyond production, VaxThera is cultivating Colombian talent, training scientists in advanced research and business skills: “We want to stimulate young people to say, ‘I can do something as well for my country.’” With these efforts, Osorio envisions Colombia exporting both vaccines and scientific expertise, transforming the nation into a leader in global biotechnology.
Deepti Juturu, Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer at Prezent
Deepti Juturu is the Chief Customer Officer and Co-Founder of Prezent, which is an AI-driven presentation productivity platform that is rapidly expanding across the U.S., Latin America, and Europe.
The entrepreneur earlier was CEO of Prezentium, which was acquired this month by Prezent.
According to TechCrunch, Prezent raised an additional $30 million in a round led by Multiplier Capital, Greycroft, and Nomura Strategic, bringing its total funding to $74 million.
The company is now valued at $400 million following the acquisition of Prezentium, and also recently debuted its first AI-Coach to create the future of business communication training at scale.
Prior to Prezentium, Juturu was a Senior Manager, Commercial Operations at Genentech and a Senior Associate at McKinsey.
Sebastián Wilson, CEO, OK to Shop
Startup OK to Shop is on a mission to make food shopping easier-and safer-for anyone with dietary restrictions or particular ways of eating. At the helm is CEO and Co‑Founder Sebastián Wilson, who built an app allowing users to scan barcodes or search products to immediately get nutritional information, ingredients, and whether the item matches their diet profile.
Whether it’s allergies, intolerances, or vegan, vegetarian, kosher, or halal diets, OK to Shop seeks to take the guesswork out of choosing what to eat. Users can even set up multiple profiles for family members, save favorite products, and keep track of what’s safe or suitable.
But the platform isn’t just for shoppers. OK to Shop data and analytics can also be tapped into by supermarkets and food brands to underpin product suitability, enabling them to better engage with consumers in a far more responsible and informed manner.
With Colombians becoming increasingly more digital and diet-conscious, OK to Shop’s approach is a perfect fit. OK to Shop is a very simple idea for an app, solving the real problem of turning such a complicated shopping experience into a manageable, transparent, and empowering one.
Antony Cobiak, Executive at Rotate
Antony Cobiak is helps lead operations for Rotate, a global cybersecurity platform that provides a unified “cyber protection cloud” across identity, email, endpoint, data and training. The company offers solutions such as 24/7 managed detection & response (MDR), incident response, cyber insurance readiness and compliance monitoring.
Under Cobiak’s leadership in Latin America, Rotate has expanded aggressively through Brazil and is now looking to Colombia as a key market of interest, positioning itself to serve enterprises and service providers who require scalable, integrated cyber‑security tools. With its modular hubs; Identity Hub, Email Hub, Data Hub, Endpoint Hub and EASM Hub, Rotate aims to protect workforces, devices and data with AI‑driven monitoring and response.
Cobiak, who brought significant global experience in technology and security leadership, emphasises Latin America’s growing appetite for robust managed security services and the advantage of using nearshore teams to deliver them. Through Rotate’s Brazil‑based operations, he is building a bilingual (Spanish/Portuguese) technical and service delivery hub to serve the region.
Rotate’s mission is rooted in the belief that “everyone deserves 360 degrees of protection,” and Cobiak is looking to translate that vision into growth across the region, capitalising on Colombia’s and Brazil’s rising tech‑talent pools and the surge in digital transformation across industries.
Juan Pablo Granda, CEO of LemonTech
LemonTech transforms legal operations across Latin America through AI-powered SaaS solutions that help law firms and corporate legal departments scale, automate, and modernize workflows. Under the leadership of Juan Pablo Granda, the company’s platforms automate labor-intensive tasks into AI-enhanced, data-driven processes.
In the last few years, the global legal ecosystem has experienced an unparalleled transformation. Law firms, corporate departments, and legaltech startups increasingly resort to artificial intelligence to automate repetitive tasks and conserve resources for strategy. This is a shift that raises not just productivity but the quality of the advice given, according to Granda.
According to data provided by Legalcomplex, there are only over 200 legaltech companies operating in Latin America, while more than 490 operate in the United Kingdom alone. The difference not only points to a technological gap but also at an opportunity that accelerates the adoption of AI-based and digitally transformative solutions in Latin American markets. “Today, artificial intelligence lets lawyers focus on what really generates value: strategy and human judgment”, said Granda in a recent interview with Contxto.
At LemonTech, Granda is leading legal teams across Latin America away from manual processes and toward more efficient, transparent, and scalable operations, driving the digital legal-services transformation in the region.
Roberto Peñacastro, Co-Founder and CEO of Leadsales
Roberto (Roby) Peñacastro is the co-founder and CEO of Leadsales, an innovative startup focused on providing specialized CRM for WhatsApp and social media, designed to drive direct results—often tripling sales for its clients. Originally from Querétaro, Roby stands out in the entrepreneurial world for his innate ability to lead high-performing teams and find effective solutions to complex business challenges.
Roby’s dedication and strategic acumen have earned him significant recognition across the global tech ecosystem. He has successfully navigated and been supported by elite accelerators and programs, including SkyDeck Batch 14 S22, the Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund, and StartX S23. Beyond his impressive track record in scaling tech ventures, his commitment extends to philanthropic causes. This blend of business savvy and social responsibility was formally recognized when Forbes Mexico highlighted him as one of their “30 Promising Business Leaders” in 2024 and recently named as one of the Innovators Under 35 LATAM of MIT Technology Review 2025.
Peñacastro is focused on the next evolution of sales, positioning Leadsales to capitalize on the high-volume, direct messaging to empower businesses sales and power social platforms.
Marcelino Bellosta, Chairman of Midi
Marcelino Bellosta is the Chairman of MidiFinancial, a financial platform that gives both U.S. companies and Latin American remote workers access to U.S. banking, payments, and financial services, all at zero monthly cost.
Born out of a pain point that many Latins have: Latin American remote workers finally had access to jobs with U.S. companies, but were losing thousands of dollars each year to commissions, bad exchange rates, and outdated banking systems. Midi solves this by giving workers in Latin America access to a U.S. bank account and debit card in minutes without needing to live in the U.S. or deal with bureaucracy. This levels the playing field for millions of talented professionals, ensuring they keep more of what they earn and gain true financial freedom.
Bellosta is leading efforts to connect Latin America with the global economy. In partnership with BSJI (Bank of San Juan International), he is building an ecosystem that enables remote workers in LATAM to receive USD payments seamlessly. With 25+ years in banking and finance, Marcelino combines strategic vision and innovation to drive economic growth across the region.
Christian Struve, Co-founder of Fracttal
Christian Struve is the Co-Founder and CEO at Fracttal, a 100% cloud-based platform that integrates asset management software, IoT, and artificial intelligence.
Christian wrote his lines of code at age 10, marking an early passion for technology. He went on to earn a degree in Computer Science before getting his first real exposure to maintenance management in the oil and gas industry.
He later joined PwC as a consultant, specializing in ERP and maintenance solutions, before transitioning into a CIO role in manufacturing, where he led large-scale digital transformation projects.
In 2008, he launched his own consulting firm, working on hundreds of projects to optimize maintenance operations through technology. Over the next years, Christian saw that asset management was stuck in the past. Companies were still relying on spreadsheets and outdated systems that couldn’t keep up with modern industry demands.
This served as the catalyst to launch Fracttal to revolutionize maintenance and asset management with AI, IoT, and cloud technology, helping companies shift from reactive maintenance to predictive intelligence.
Mahesh Raja, Chief Growth Officer at Ness Digital Engineering
Mahesh Raja is the Chief Growth Officer at Ness Digital Engineering, a global full-cycle digital transformation company that announced last month the opening of its new offices in Mexico. The company is looking to hire up to 200 employees in Latin America by 2026.
Raja joined Ness to support the global growth ambitions of the product engineering and native digital engineering company. The firm operates at the intersection of deep domain expertise across four industries and technical expertise in five digital capabilities. Unlike traditional IT services companies, Ness is a native digital engineering company with strong roots in customer software development.
Previously, he served the Senior Vice President and Sector Head of Banking and Financial Services Business Unit at Wipro.
Raja is also a Mentor at Tec de Monterrey’s entrepreneurship program, and is a Contributor at Entrepreneur Magazine.
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