Bogotá, July 2024. On July 24, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism and iNNpulsa Colombia held the national final of the 2024 Entrepreneurship World Cup organized by the Global Entrepreneurship Network, GEN for its acronym in English, and the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises of Saudi Arabia Monsha´at, where Swiset , a Cali startup, was selected as Colombia's representative in the global final.
Swiset , a Cali-based company specialized in software development and analytics for financial market operators and stockbrokers worldwide, competed alongside four other Colombian startups and companies: Lifefactors (Medellín) , Magneto Global (Medellín) , Matt (Medellín) and Glasst Innovation Company (Medellín) .
These five companies qualified for the national final as they obtained the highest score in the evaluation carried out by GEN and Monsha´at out of the 423 applications received . These finalists competed with their business pitch before a jury composed of Ila Travecedo , president of La French Tech Bogotá and Co-founder & COO of Branditt; Andrés Raigosa , director of the Chamber of Entrepreneurship and Acceleration of ANDI and Nicolás Noel , member of the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of France in Colombia.
“We are proud of the important participation that Colombia always has in this global competition. Our entrepreneurs are highly respected by the ecosystems of other countries and being able to be present there alongside the best entrepreneurs is evidence of the great creative and innovative potential of our country. We wish our representatives the best of luck this year!” said Hernán Ceballos Gacharná, general manager of iNNpulsa Colombia – Colombia Productiva.
Swiset , as the winner of the Colombian final, obtained a direct place in the global final that will take place in December 2024 in Saudi Arabia , where it will have to compete with 99 other ventures from around the world before a panel of international juries and experts.
At the national level, and thanks to the collaboration of iNNpulsa Colombia, this winning venture will also receive a 100% scholarship to participate in the five-month entrepreneurial training program at the Universidad Tecnológica Latinoamericana en Línea; a free place in the Pantera Makers acceleration program; and mentoring sessions and participation in events for six months with the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Colombia.
In addition to this, the Medellín-based startup ' Matt ' focused on the development of devices aimed at improving the quality of life of people with assisted mobility, was selected as the winner of the French Tech category , thus receiving a direct place in the final of the Prix French Tech to be held in October of this year, where it will compete for access to ecosystem events in France, as well as specialized support and more.
Since its launch in 2019, the EWC, or Entrepreneurship World Cup , has attracted more than 430,000 entrepreneurs from 200 countries and connected some of its founders with more than US$4 million in cash prizes and another US$266 million in free services and support.
In 2022, the most recent previous year where Colombia participated in the global final of this competition, entrepreneur Fabián Corredor, founder of Vive Travel, represented our country and although he did not make it to the final stages of the competition, he had the opportunity to travel to Saudi Arabia and connect with investors and entrepreneurs from around the world in the global final.
In this way, we hope that for the 2024 edition, the Colombian representation will be able to reach more advanced stages in this important global final to continue highlighting the entrepreneurial potential of our country.