Companies from São Paulo participate in business roundtables during the trade mission of Investe SP to Colombia
Ambassador of Brazil in Colombia and the agency’s president Juan Quirós highlighted the huge potential to expand the trade relations between São Paulo and the Andean country
Investe São Paulo
Entrepreneurs from São Paulo introduced their products and services to dozens of potential Colombian buyers on June 13, in Bogota, capital of Colombia. The initiative was promoted by Investe São Paulo in partnership with Apex-Brazil, within the Program to Support Exports from São Paulo, the SP Export, and should continue in the upcoming days in Lima, Peru.
During the opening of the trade mission in Bogota, the Ambassador of Brazil in Colombia, Maria Elisa Berenguer, highlighted that there is a huge field for the expansion of trade between the state of São Paulo and the Andean country:
“Post-conflict Colombia has proved an excellent opportunity to entrepreneurs from São Paulo. Brazil is the largest exporter in Latin America to Colombia and the fifth in the world for that country. Investe São Paulo had the vision to open this huge gateway to entrepreneurs from São Paulo, which will certainly generate more jobs and income for the state, which is the locomotive of Brazil,” said the ambassador.
The president of Investe São Paulo, Juan Quirós, made a technical explanation of the potential of the state of São Paulo to Colombian entrepreneurs. He signaled that there are opportunities for both exports and imports:
“Today we begin a relationship between São Paulo and Colombia that will bring many benefits for the people from Brazil and Colombia, which stands out after achieving the much desired peace and institutional stability,” said the president of Investe SP.
The Investment Promotion Manager of Invest in Bogota, Juan Carlos Jiménez, welcomed the mission and said that he was at the disposal of all Brazilian entrepreneurs.
The COO of Apex-Brazil in Bogota, Victoria Osorio Sandoval, noted that there are already 60 business queries between Brazilian and Colombian companies scheduled for the coming months:
“The population of Colombia is almost the total population of the state of São Paulo; for this reason and due to the increasing cultural affinities between people from São Paulo and Colombia, we will certainly implement many projects and create jobs on both sides,” said Victoria.
After the opening ceremony, business roundtables were held between entrepreneurs from São Paulo and Colombian buyers throughout the day. Tomorrow, the companies will participate in technical visits to trade associations and retail stores.
On Thursday and Friday, the trade mission of Investe São Paulo will visit Lima, capital of Peru.
About SP Export
Coordinated by Investe São Paulo and created by the Department of Economic Development, Science and Technology and Innovation, São Paulo Export Support Program – SP Export – seeks to increase the volume of exports from São Paulo, encourage the exporting culture in its business community and help state companies find foreign markets for their products and services.
SP Export is carried out through a partnership with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brazil), an integral part of the National Exporting Culture Plan (PNCE), in accordance with an agreement signed in late 2015.
The program includes missions of Brazilian companies for prospecting international markets, support to the arrival of potential buyers and foreign exporters and training seminars, in addition to the service provided free of charge through the Industrial Export Extension Project (Peiex), of Apex-Brazil, and Poupatempo do Exportador, an itinerant initiative that brings information from different institutions to the main metropolitan areas of the state.
About Apex-Brazil
The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brazil) works to promote Brazilian products and services abroad and attract foreign investments to strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy. The Agency provides support to approximately 11.000,000 companies in 80 sectors of the Brazilian economy, which in turn export to more than 200 markets.