03 de November de 2023
Colombia, November 2023 – Over 200 Colombian exporters have taken part in the Macrorrueda Colombia European Congress organized by ProColombia, a body of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism of the Columbian Government in charge of promoting foreign investment, international tourism, non-energy mining exports and the country’s image.
The event is the biggest commercial promotional initiative undertaken by Colombia in Europe, giving Columbian exporters the chance to schedule business meetings, identify and capitalize on opportunities and build strategic alliances with around 100 international buyers interested in the export prospects of Columbian companies in the production chains of sectors of Agri-food, Fashion, Industry 4.0, Metal and Mechanics, Other Industries, Chemicals and Life Sciences.
With the collaboration of Planeta Formación y Universidades, the international higher education network of Grupo Planeta, the event was organized on 30th and 31st October at La Nave Innovation Centre, with an academic schedule of high-value content of great interest to the participants. At the venue, as well as Colombian businesspeople and potential buyers, the event also welcomed ambassadors, diplomats and other special guests.
The sessions held on 30th October included the participation of two lecturers form EAE Business School Madrid, which is part of Planeta Formación y Universidades.
Firstly, Laura Yturriaga Alcocer, the Head of Banking & Sustainability at Banco Santander and a lecturer on the Master in Leadership in Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility at EAE Madrid, took part in the Green Pact Panel, which discussed the road towards a sustainable global market economy.
Sharing her insight, Laura explained that “banks have a key role to play in the journey towards sustainability, as the financers of this transition. The decision to allocate funds can promote or punish certain activities based on their social and environmental commitments. As such, banks have a huge responsibility, which is why we are making great efforts to integrate ESG criteria in all our decisions and throughout our strategy”.
Moreover, Laura emphasized that “as a bank, we have to promote green finance, without a doubt. However, our key role is to accompany our customers throughout their transition, so it precisely this process that we will have to finance. We focus on being green and whatever generates a progressive improvement for our customers”.
To finish off, she concluded that “The economic recovery has to be underpinned by sustainability. In fact, it is argued that sustainability marks the start of a new stage of growth, in which not only do we fight climate change, but also hunger and poverty”.
It was then the turn of Francisco Javier Verdera, the Director of Sustainability and Regulatory Issues at the consultancy KNOWENCE and lecturer on the Master in Commercial and Sales Management at EAE Madrid Business School Madrid, who gave a presentation entitled “10 Years of the Colombia-EU Free Trade Agreement: Key results of its implementation and future opportunities”.
The Director explained that the Trade Agreement that the European Union and its members signed with Colombia over ten years ago has reaped benefits for both parties, maintaining stable, predictable relations between them with a strong emphasis on sustainability in economic, social and environmental terms. “Colombia has one of the most dynamic industrial sectors in South America and a strong nation brand. The road to building a bigger market in Europe is based on networking and differentiation through quality and value, which requires progress in terms of innovation”, he added.
Moreover, Verdera highlighted that the recent challenges that have hit global trade, such as the pandemic and the logistics and supply crisis, have not affect our commercial relations and investments significantly. ”Within a context in which Europe is looking for reliable partners that share values such as human rights and environmental protection, Colombia stands out among the nations of the region as a great option”.
To conclude, he emphasized that conferences of businesspeople, like the one organized by ProColombia in collaboration with EAE Business School, are an important step towards building solid trade relations between the two regions of the world. However, he underlined the need to strengthen the application of our Trade Agreement by including more tangible elements such as increasing regulatory and technical intelligence between the two parties, as well as collaboration to converge closer in terms of rules and regulations. This will enable Colombia to contribute towards the green and digital transition that Europe is currently undergoing and which is soon expected to spread as a global trend.
With the aim of preparing the businesspeople for the event, over the course of the first week of October, five online workshops were run by lecturers from institutions that form part of Planeta Formación y Universidades, focusing on internationalization for the European market. Over 200 Colombian exporters took part in the workshops to gain insights that will have a positive impact on their business and alliances.
The workshops covered key topics for companies, including sustainability in Europe, finance optimization for international trade in Europe, strategies for positioning a company in the European Union, and business processes in Europe.
The sessions were led by the experts José Lluch Olmos, from the Valencian International University, Ahmed Bakri, from EAE Business School Madrid, Jan Jonckheere, from OBS Business School, and María Ángeles Ruiz Espeleta, from EAE Business School Barcelona, as well as Angharad Collado, from the Iberonex network. The workshops gave the Colombian exporters the chance to increase their knowledge of the European market and discover how to innovate in their business to increase their operations in Europe.
Within the framework of the Macrorrueda Colombia Europe Congress, fourteen businesspeople from the sectors of Industry 4.0 came to the campus of EAE Business School Madrid, where they were welcomed by Javier Almazán, the Director of EAE Madrid, and Carmen Martos, the Director of EAE Madrid’s Talent and Drive Innovation Hub.
The professionals also took part in a session led by Javier Sirvent, the Technology Evangelist, entitled “Nothing will go back to how it was before”, in which he discussed how the arrival of new devices controlled by Artificial Intelligence will immerse us in a personalized reality.
Javier Sirvent explained that Artificial Intelligence and synthetic biogenetics will change us completely. “We will eat genetically modified, personalized foods. We will go around in autonomous vehicles without needing to drive. Logistics will also be automated, both at a land and maritime level”. “This is just the beginning of a technological revolution that will affect all areas and companies”.
According to Javier Sirvent, the best way to adapt to this revolution is to merge ideas and sectors and, most importantly, maintain a curious attitude and keep training constantly.
At the end of the visit, the businesspeople took tour of the Joaquin Costa campus of EAE Business School Madrid.