The United Kingdom’s ambassador to Colombia said in an interview with business magazine La Republica that U.K. businesses are “very interested” in Colombian investment opportunities, especially in the technology sector.
Her Majesty’s Ambassador John Drew explained that U.K. investment in Colombia has stagnated over the past years, but that he remains optimistic about future opportunities.
“[U.K.] investment in Colombia has not been very large in recent years. But, there have been small and medium sized technology enterprises that have invested in Colombia…We also have companies such as BT [British Telecom], which is an information technology firm.”
Drew added also explained that U.K. information technology companies are on the rise in Latin America.
“Companies that are interested in having a presence in Colombia are the professional services and high-technology sectors. For many of these technology companies already have a presence in countries like Brazil and Mexico. Colombia is the next step.”
Edward Dallas, the head of section for the British Embassy in Bogota, told Colombia Reports that they “have seen a rise in the number of companies coming to Colombia that are offering technological solutions.”
“[The rise] is not just IT itself but high-tech products in areas such as security, construction etc. In the narrower IT sector we have companies like BT and Aveva, which is specifically involved with software for production plants. We also have companies like Smartwater, which offer a high-tech product for forensic security…and Experian, which provides solution for managing credit risk in the financial sector. Looking forward I would like to think that we can bring U.K. companies in other sectors with technology solutions, e.g. in construction, environment etc.”