Doing business with a company colombia : the benefits and challenges

Colombia has a population of 45 million people, the second largest in South America after Brazil. It is the third largest Spanish speaking country in the world.

COLOMBIA TRADE OPPORTUNITIES

ABOUT COLOMBIA

ARTICLE ABOUT BUSINESS WITH A COMPANY IN COLOMBIA

Colombia has been experiencing strong growth between 2002 and 2007 thanks to its promarket policies therefore attracting record investment levels. With the global financial crisis, the country experienced negative growth rates due to the decrease of Colombian exports. In this article, you will learn about the benefits and challenges of doing business with a company in Colombia.

Colombia is located in Latin America sharing borders with Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. It has a population of 45 million people. The official currency is the Colombian Peso. The language that is mostly used is Spanish although some people in a company in Colombia might speak English.

Colombia exports mainly nickel, coffee, petroleum, apparel, emeralds, cut flowers and bananas. It imports transportation equipment, industrial equipment, chemicals, consumer goods, paper products, electricity and fuels. Colombia's biggest trade partners are Ecuador, Venezuela and the United States.

The first step to do business with a company in Colombia would be to contact a local embassy or consulate to get as much information and resources as possible. There are chambers of commerce that can also be useful. Online directories are also available although a lot of the information is outdated and wrong therefore you end up having trouble contacting a company in Colombia that you are interested to do business with. New B2B trade portals and marketplace focusing on Latin America is another good choice for finding a company in Colombia quickly and efficiently. Before actually doing business with a company in Colombia, order a credit report on the company so you can get the full legal and financial history of a company. This will help you decide if you want to proceed further with the business deal.

Colombia has learned the hard way that depending on a few countries for economic growth is not a safe bet. This was demonstrated during the economic crisis where the country experienced sharp decline of exports with its main trading partners: Venezuela and the united States. This has pushed Colombia to strongly encourage its exporters to diversify its trading partners.

As you can see, doing business with a company in Colombia has its benefits and challenges. It could take some time in the beginning to find the company in Colombia that matches your requirements. Try to always purchase a credit report in order to have a clearer information about who you are going to do business with.

Want to start taking advantage of doing business with a company in Colombia?