Throughout his term, just as he did when he was a candidate, President Iván Duque repeated several times that Colombia will be the next ‘Silicon Valley’ (California technology zone) in Latin America.
Although this statement generated criticism among his detractors, who reminded him of the immense technological gaps that exist in Colombia, as well as the deficiencies in technology development of various state entities, this Wednesday this idea of Duke received a strong accolade. During the inauguration of Colombia 4.0, Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, stated that Colombia could become the next Silicon Valley in Latin America, thanks to the technological development that he has witnessed during his visits to the country.
“Everyone asks me where the next Silicon Valley could be, I think of Latin America and I mean Colombia, because I have had the opportunity to see how people use technology to advance. I believe it from my heart”, said the philanthropist and businessman in a talk with the president.
Meanwhile, Duque stressed that Colombia has been positioning itself as a benchmark in the ICT industry. What the president said is evident in the fact that, for example, according to data from the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce for 2019 there were more than 10,264 companies registered in the Creative and Content Industries sector, with around 48,000 jobs generated.
“If we are training 100,000 programmers, if we are developing an ecosystem where companies and technology startups do not pay income tax during the first years, as long as there is a minimum investment and a minimum number of jobs; and when we have achieved that non-mining energy foreign investment grow 196 percent in these four years, it is because today Colombia has to position itself, not only as a space for technology, but as the leading country in ‘SusTECHnibility’, where environmental agenda and the fourth industrial revolution go hand in hand and allow us to succeed as a nation”, highlighted Duque.
During the talk, the co-founder of Apple extended an invitation to Colombian entrepreneurs to continue working hard and positioning the country as a technological leader. “Showing the world that your ideas are going to reach the point of producing something means that you really are one of the few people who will achieve success,” said the businessman.
