Eight successful Colombian cities are considered Cities of the Future

Eight Colombian cities have been named Cities of the Future thanks to their cost effectiveness and foreign direct investment strategies.

Colombian cities show tremendous potential according to new rankings that have named the Cities of the Future across the Americas. The results, compiled by the Financial Times’ fDi magazine, evaluate the investment attracted by cities in the region as well as their cost effectiveness and foreign direct investment strategies to determine which cities are destined to be the best.

Bogota

Colombia’s capital is a hive of activity with its modern skyscrapers and colorful colonial quarters and it’s now celebrating being named one of the Americas’ Cities of the Future for 2017-2018. The Andean city is home to eight million people and was named Latin America’s number one major city for its foreign direct investment strategy and ranked fifth in Latin America among the overall Cities of the Future for the Americas. One example of successful foreign direct investment in Bogota is the capital’s booming Business Process Outsourcing sector, which employs tens of thousands of people. It was attractive prospects for investment such as this that saw Bogota placed eighth for the success of foreign direct investment projects across the Americas (2012-2016) ahead of cities such as Chicago and Santiago de Chile.

Cali

Cali is the economic heart of the country’s south-west and one of the fastest-growing economies in all Colombia. The Valle de Cauca capital was one of three Colombian cities to win a place in the Americas’ top ten major cities for foreign direct investment strategy, second in Latin America only to Colombia’s capital, Bogota. The city is in the center of one of the world’s top sugar producing regions and, famous for its annual Cali Fair, boasting opportunities for foreign direct investment in industries such as agriculture, hotel and tourism and cosmetics and hygiene. Companies including Spanish contact center provider Telemark, Chilean manufacturers Winpack and English giants Unilever and Cadbury all have bases in Cali. The city was also ranked tenth among major cities in the Americas’ for its cost effectiveness, which only serves to make it a more attractive prospect for investment.

Cartagena de Indias

Cartagena is one of the world’s most beautiful cities and it’s filled with historic and architectural treasures. It’s also the top industrial city in the Colombian Caribbean and one of the country’s most important ports. Cartagena was ranked number one for its foreign direct investment strategy among large cities across the Americas, ahead of metropolises including Las Vegas and Orlando in the United States. Boosted by increased foreign direct investment in its manufacturing, commerce and tourism sectors, Cartagena is the country’s main port for shipping containers and cruise ships and the ideal base for imports and exports.

Medellin

The City of Eternal Spring is a Colombian icon, as famous for its universities, commerce and industry as much as its flowers and festivals. Medellin is one of the world’s most innovative cities and has some of the best quality of life in the country. The city is the capital of Antioquia, the country’s second most industrialized region and an area that attracts foreign direct investment in its agro-industrial and manufacturing sectors, among others. Mexican construction material multinational CEMEX and Chilean kitchen component manufacturer Protema both have bases in the region. Medellin is one of the Cities of the Future thanks to its foreign direct investment strategy, one of the top ten across major cities in the Americas.

Pereira

The capital of Risaralda is the focal point of the UNESCO World Heritage Site that is Colombia’s coffee district and a force for trade and commerce because it lies in the center of the Golden Triangle formed by Bogota, Medellin and Cali, as well as being close to the Pacific Ocean’s main seaport. Pereira has seen increasing investment in its International Free Trade zones and is particularly attractive for companies in the textile, metallurgy, logistics and services industries. The city was ranked ninth for cost effectiveness and eighth for its foreign direct investment strategy among the Americas’ mid-sized cities.

Neiva

The Huila capital is one of southern Colombia’s most important cities and has strong trade routes thanks to its fortuitous positioning, with connections to the Pacific Ocean, Colombia’s interior and countries across its borders. Neiva offers key tax incentives, including exemptions for those that open new companies and generate jobs and it is one of the most profitable cities in South America, thanks to its flourishing agribusiness activities including fish farming, specialty coffee, tobacco, cacao and hydraulic energy. Neiva was praised for its cost effectiveness, which saw it placed sixth in the category on the Cities of the Future rankings for small cities across the Americas.

Barranquilla

The capital of Atlantico borders the Magdalena River and is an important port as well as home to one of Colombia’s most important cultural festivals, the Barranquilla Carnival. It’s a magnet for foreign direct investment, which has created hundreds of jobs in the coastal city. Companies including Indian BPO provider Sutherland, Norwegian multi-national Yara International, German pharmaceutical giants Bayer and Swiss cement producers Holcim all have bases in the city. Barranquilla offers excellent opportunities in the plastics sector and is one hour from the Cartagena Refinery. It is one of the most cost effective major cities in the Americas, placed seventh in the Cities of the Future rankings.

Ibague

The Tolima capital is one of Colombia’s major urban economies and sits in the heart of the Andean mountains. Besides the city’s economic success, it is famed for being the Musical Capital of Colombia. The 2017-2018 Cities of the Future rankings placed Ibague tenth for its cost effectiveness among mid-sized cities in the Americas. CEMEX chose to invest in Tolima for the quality of its raw materials and English company Gulf Oil International and Spanish outsourcers DIGITEX both have bases in the region too.