Colombia – green efficiency

Colombia – green efficiency

Colombia is a country located in the north west of South America, bordered by Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru. It is an ethnically diverse country of nearly 43 million people who are descended from the original native inhabitants, Spanish colonists, Africans brought over as slaves and 20th century immigrants from Europe and the Middle East. The national motto is Libertad y Orden (Freedom and Order) and the capital and largest city is Bogota.

Its principal industries include oil, mining, chemicals, food processing, agricultural products, textile and fabrics, forest products, machinery, electronics and financial services. Colombia is also known as an important source of emeralds, while over 70% of cut flowers imported by the USA are Colombian. Principal trading partners are the United States, China, the European Union and some Latin American countries.

Electricity production in Colombia comes mainly from renewable sources. 67.8% is obtained from hydro power and Colombia’s commitment to renewable energy was recognised in the 2014 Global Green Economy Index (GGEI), ranking among the top 10 nations in the world in terms of greening efficiency sectors.

Just over half of the female population participates in the Colombian labour force; however, the wage gap between male and female workers is 25% to 35%. With strongly embedded stereotypes and a conservative split of roles and duties at home and at work, few women make it to executive level in business and politics. Approximately 4% of the top 100 companies in Colombia have women CEOs.

Although there may be an agenda, meetings do not always follow a linear path. At the beginning it will be about relationship-building. Colombians are noted to be ‘indirect communicators’ – this means there is more information within body language and context rather than the words. If you ask someone to do something and they reply ‘I will have to see’, it would be for you to infer that they cannot perform the task.


Share your Columbian business experiences.

Sources: Wikipedia, Kwintessential, Evita Lune of Pedersen & Partners