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European Union Joins ANDICOM 2026 As Guest Of Honor

✇Finance Colombia
By: Loren Moss

EU-Colombia alliance prioritizes digital investment and AI growth.

Colombia’s Centro de Innovación, Productividad y Desarrollo Tecnológico (CINTEL) has announced that the European Union will serve as the guest of honor for the ANDICOM 2026 technology congress. This 41st edition of the regional digital conference is scheduled to take place from September 2 to September 4, 2026, in Cartagena, with preliminary activities beginning on September 1 at the Hotel Faranda Collection.

The European Union currently stands as the largest foreign technology investor in Colombia. According to figures provided by CINTEL, the 27-member economic bloc accounts for 22% of the direct investment in the nation’s tech sector and has been responsible for the generation of approximately 120,000 jobs.

“ANDICOM is a strategic opportunity to strengthen cooperation, drive European investments in the region, and advance a joint agenda that promotes digital transformation.” — François Roudié, European Union Ambassador to Colombia.

“The participation of the European Union in ANDICOM 2026 reflects a shared vision regarding the importance of digital transformation as a driver of economic and social development,” said Manuel Martínez, Executive Director of CINTEL. “This alliance allows us to connect Colombia and Latin America with one of the most advanced ecosystems in the world in terms of innovation, investment, and technological development.”

The 2026 event will center on the theme “Unleashing the Power of AI.” The academic agenda is designed to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on business productivity, national competitiveness, and the digital transformation of public institutions. The primary sessions will be held at the Complejo Las Américas.

François Roudié, the European Union Ambassador to Colombia, noted that the partnership highlights the bilateral commitment to a digital economy that is secure and human-centric. The ambassador emphasized that the conference serves as a strategic platform to strengthen European investments in the region and advance a joint agenda for sustainable growth.

Founded in 1991, CINTEL was recently re-certified as a Centro de Innovación y Productividad by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (MinCiencias) through a resolution issued in February 2026. The center remains a key component of the Colombian Sistema Nacional de Ciencias, Tecnología e Innovación, focusing on the application of information and communication technologies to improve regional productivity.

Above photo: CINTEL’s Manuel Martinez (left)0 with the EU’s François Roudié.

 

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Medellín Convenes Global Leaders for WOBI AI and Business Transformation Summit

✇Finance Colombia
By: Loren Moss

Medellín AI Summit outlines strategic growth for global investors.

The city of Medellín is scheduled to host the second edition of the “WOBI on AI and Business Transformation” summit on April 28, 2026. The event, which will take place at Plaza Mayor, represents the sixth major collaboration between the Alcaldía de Medellín and WOBI since the partnership began in 2017. This year’s forum focuses on the integration of artificial intelligence into corporate leadership and operational strategy, reinforcing the city’s status as a Special District of Science, Technology, and Innovation.

Martha Lucía Maldonado Nieto, Managing Director of WOBI Colombia, detailed the evolution of the event series, noting that previous editions held between 2017 and 2019 attracted more than 4,300 business owners. “Since last year, we have shifted these digital transformation conversations toward an unavoidable topic: Artificial Intelligence,” Maldonado stated. She emphasized that the summit is designed to analyze how AI supports macro-management themes rather than providing purely technical instruction. “WOBI is not about providing technical content. Our goal isn’t to teach people how to operate a specific AI tool, but rather to support them in their roles as leaders.”

“We are certain that only by sensitizing our leaders will we achieve real changes in organizations.” — María Fernanda Galeano Rojo

The upcoming summit features a lineup of international speakers covering diverse facets of the technology. Terry Gutiérrez, the General Manager for Tesla (TSLA) in Mexico and Latin America, will present on leadership algorithms. Nathan Furr, a professor at INSEAD, is set to discuss using AI to scale business models. Other speakers include marketing expert Giuseppe Stigliano and Andrew Mayne, a former prompt engineer at OpenAI, who will provide insights into the development of ChatGPT. Maldonado noted that the curation of this content is managed by WOBI’s team in New York to identify global trends relevant to executive decision-making.

María Fernanda Galeano Rojo, the Secretary of Economic Development for Medellín, will also address the assembly on the role of “Cities that Think.” Galeano Rojo highlighted the city’s commitment to ensuring high-level technological discourse reaches multiple sectors of the local economy. “We will have 600 leaders, more than 70% of whom will be from our city,” Galeano Rojo said. “At the same time, we will have parallel activities where we will be talking with these same speakers, as well as with entrepreneurs and university students. What we want is for all this knowledge to reach different sectors of our city.”

The event structure has transitioned to a membership model as of 2024, though individual tickets remain available. Maldonado confirmed that the average cost for participation is approximately $1,990,000 COP. The summit aims to build on the success of the inaugural AI edition, which saw 800 attendees from 350 companies and has since been exported to Madrid and Milan. “Artificial Intelligence is not just another trend; it is a new reality,” Maldonado added. “It is going to change and impact us in much the same way that the internet at some point changed the way we function.”

The Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico continues to prioritize digital skills and AI training as part of its broader economic strategy. According to Galeano Rojo, the objective of the Alcaldía de Medellín is to use these international platforms to drive social and organizational transformation. “We are betting on digital skills training and AI training,” she remarked. “We are certain that only by sensitizing our leaders will we achieve real changes in organizations.”

The one-day academic session will begin at 9:00 AM. Key regional entities including Rappi, McKinsey, and Procter & Gamble (PG) were cited as background for the expertise being brought to the stage, reflecting the professional trajectories of the invited speakers.

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