The European Union was the guest of honour at ANDICOM 2026, the technology and business congress held in Cartagena from 1 to 4 September.
On the final morning, the European Union Pavilion hosted a panel on the role of startups and small businesses in the digital economy.
It drew the largest audience of any stage that day.
Brigitte Mayorga, Director General of Tecnalia Colombia (partner of the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator), argued that open innovation is a practical mechanism for connecting Europe with Latin America and the Caribbean, rather than merely a term.
She pointed to the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator and several of its partnerships as evidence, a programme that has now accelerated more than 80 corporate-startup collaborations.
She was joined by five other speakers:
- Luis Felipe Ruiz, Digital Expert for the Latin America and Caribbean Division at the Delegation of the European Union in Colombia and at D4DHub, outlined the available cooperation and investment instruments.
- Andrea Carolina Alvarez, Vice President of Business Strengthening at the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, described what small and medium-sized businesses actually need, including the work of Campus 2600.
- Paula Andrea Medina Fuentes, New Business Manager at Tecnofactory, gave the company view on internationalisation and technology adoption.
- Diego Gómez, founder of Bioanalytics, explained how European programmes and access to Copernicus data have strengthened his offer.
- Borys Wos, Head of Research and Development at the Polish research institute IDEAS, shared his experience of collaboration between Europe and Colombia.
Every intervention returned to the same point: technology transfer is not only about finding a solution but also about funding, adapting, and supporting its adoption.
Open call 6 of the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator opens on 21 September and closes on 30 November, and is open to existing corporate-startup partnerships.
