MEDELLÍN, Colombia — The foundation of Colombia’s economy is built on micro, small, and medium businesses (MSMEs). In fact, according to 2024 data from the Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, more than 98% of businesses in the country are considered MSMEs, and they are responsible for 72% to 80% of employment there. Leaders of many of those companies are looking for resources to help them grow and succeed within the country, across South America, and further afield, including in the United States.
In Medellín, local government, private-sector, and university resources are collaborating to deliver success. This intentional consortium of partners, which includes Ruta N, Alcaldía de Medellín, the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Medellín, and Georgia Tech’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation — among others — resulted in Medellín being named City of the Year in StartupBlink’s Innovators Business Environment Index 2026. The recognition is a global benchmark that evaluates how easily innovators can startup and operate a business across the world. The city was recognized for “its ability to build a distinctive city-level competitiveness model, actively shaping local business conditions rather than relying solely on national frameworks.”
Georgia Tech Center Strengthens Entrepreneurship in Medellín
Thanks to funding from leading corporations in Colombia and support from alumni from the country, Georgia Tech became an important part of this vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem when it opened the Georgia Tech Medellín Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (GTMC) in March 2023. Managed by Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, the center collaborates with local universities including, Universidad EAFIT, Universidad de Antioquia, Universidad Pontifica Bolivariana, Universidad EIA, and Universidad CES, among others. That alliance of universities has resulted in a curriculum of capacity‑building programs, strategic guidance on technology commercialization, and market entry to support entrepreneurs at every step of their journey.
One successful entrepreneur, who has been part of GTMC from classes to networking to now a term as an advisory board member, is Catalina Isaza Falla, founder and CEO of medical device company Innmetec. She credits GTMC, in particular, with helping her scale her business beyond Colombia.
“When we started with the first [GTMC] program we were just selling in Colombia,” she said. “Now we are selling in other Latin American countries and also in Saudi Arabia. I would recommend GTMC especially to founders who are looking to take their companies to an international standard. If a business owner is ready to challenge their own assumptions and wants to build a business that is both scalable and resilient, I think GTMC is the best partner they can have.”
Corporate, University, and Government Leaders Drive Ecosystem Growth
GTMC is just one part of this hive of entrepreneurialism, said Juli Golemi, director of Georgia Tech’s EI2 Global, where GTMC is housed. “What comes to mind first about why Medellín has such a successful innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem is that they have a high participation of the corporate sector,” she said. “The corporate sector has been key in this process. They really want to see their community of entrepreneurs grow. There is also a solid number of universities that have been working to boost the ecosystem.”
Co-founder of green energy startup Erco Energy Juan Esteban Hincapié agreed with Golemi about the ingredients of a strong innovation ecosystem. “We have a lot of options to help entrepreneurs. When we started, we didn’t have knowledge about scaling companies, about entrepreneurs. But now, 14 years later, we have a lot of successful companies we can learn from. We have really good mentors that help entrepreneurs.”
Local government is also involved in helping new businesses thrive. In its recognition of Medellín, StartupBlink called out the ways municipal leaders have been able to actively shape economic outcomes and create competitive advantage from the ground up through initiatives to integrate regulation, access to capital, digital infrastructure, and innovation hubs such as GTMC into a unified urban economic model.
Collaborative Platforms Strengthen the Future
Monthly events hosted by Comité Universidad Empresa Estado (CUEE) bring together university, corporate, and government entities to discuss ways to further strengthen innovation in the city. And Ruta N is the city’s active economic development entity.
“There has been so much in the way of coordinating activities and bringing in funding in support of building a robust, technology-based entrepreneurship ecosystem,” David Bridges, vice president of the Enterprise Innovation Institute, said about Ruta N. “All these players have come together actively to boost the ecosystem.”