President Duque Highlights Huge Growth Opportunities in Creative-Industries Sectors at Medellin Business Forum

In contrast to some wildly unsustainable economic schemes proposed by incoming Colombia President Gustavo Petro – like giving dead-end government jobs to 3 million unemployed people — outgoing President Ivan Duque on July 21 here in Medellin outlined huge potential for sustainable jobs growth and wealth creation in the creative-industries sectors, also known as the “orange economy.”

Thanks to wisely targeted tax incentives, “today Colombia is the epicenter and the most attractive place in Latin America for more investment in the orange economy,” President Duque explained here.

At the “Forum of Art, Culture, Creativity and Technology,” Duque pointed out that companies in the creative-industries sectors here “do not pay income tax during the first five years,” as long as they meet certain targets for investment and jobs creation.

“Last year more than 300,000 companies were created and, according to Confecamaras, 40% of them were associated with the orange economy,” he said.

Colombia’s national trade-school program (SENA) “has more than 400,000 young people who have been trained through these certified programs, and SENA can reach an additional million in complementary programs,” he added.

“Today Colombia allows these enterprises to connect with more markets, with important regulations that allow more exports from Colombia, including creative services, and at a 40% tax discount,” he said.

Thanks to huge growth in the “orange economy,” creative industries here now account for a greater proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) than even Colombia’s traditional coffee and mining industries, he said.

That’s why “we have to ensure that this sector has a continuing voice, stability, training and projection for the future,” he concluded.