Medellín, a key city for foreign investment and headquarters of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Cooperation and Investment Agency of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area, ACI Medellín, is a decentralized entity of the Mayor’s Office of Medellín, in charge of leading the processes of foreign investment, international cooperation and city positioning with the objective of positively impacting the development of the city – region and the quality of life of its inhabitants.

In this sense, the Agency is responsible of making visible the management of the city in different international scenarios to generate confidence and direct efforts towards the generation of quality assurance, the transfer of good business practices and the improvement of local infrastructure.

The interest aroused by the capital of Antioquia in the world for its social and urban transformation and constant innovation has been the gateway for entrepreneurs and investors to think about it to settle in the territory and thus contribute to the development of the country and the region.

The city has achieved during the execution of the first three years and 7 months (as for July 2019), corresponding to this administrative four – year period (2016 – 2019) a historical figure in direct foreign investment: USD 1,073 million; from countries such as Canada, China, Denmark, El Salvador, Spain, the United States, Guatemala, Mexico and Switzerland, among others.

The relationship between the ACI Medellín and the companies interested in expanding its operations in the territory has led them to rely on the city’s capabilities to invest for the first time, and in several cases reinvest their capital, materializing between 2016 and July of 2019 the management of 142 investments and reinvestments, mainly in the sectors of: infrastructure and real estate, manufacturing, industries 4.0, aerospace and life sciences.

With the accompaniment of national and foreign companies that establish their services in Medellín, an employment dynamic is generated benefiting the human talent of the region, improving the business fabric and energizing the installed capacities. Subject that is specified in 12,588 jobs generated by these investments between January 2016 and July 2019.

“Why Medellín?” Is the question that the Agency tries to solve to investors who explore the city as a possible option to expand their businesses, it is a flagship strategy that proactively seeks relationships with entrepreneurs in their own territory. Since 2016, 25 events “Why Medellin?” have been held in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Spain, the United States, Mexico, New Zealand, Perú, Turkey, Uruguay and Venezuela.

A Center that will revolutionize Latin America

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterized by unprecedented advances in terms of new technologies transforming the life, work and interaction of individuals and social groups. These advances positively impact work activities allowing the implementation of flexible schedules, the development of human talent and the reduction of economic and social inequalities.

The Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution established this year (2019) in Medellín, Colombia, is a space of trust and knowledge exchange for global cooperation, where the latest trends and technological applications will be discussed, as well as the regulatory frameworks necessary for different industries and countries, on issues of: artificial intelligence, blockchain, the internet of things, machine learning, Big Data, nanotechnology, in addition to the impacts of this revolution on the lives of people and governments.

The speed of developments in this field and the blurred borders between sectors by the use of information technologies motivated the World Economic Forum to create the Centers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution located in San Francisco (United States), Tokyo (Japan), Beijing (China) and Mumbai (India), which, in a more transcendental scope have the mission of ensuring that the benefits of the current era positively impact all humanity.