Honoring the commitment to make Colombia a digital powerhouse and understanding the impact that 'Your Online Business' has had on the country's popular economy, ICT Minister Mauricio Liscano presented the country with the 2024 version of the plan so that merchants, business owners, MSME businesses and entrepreneurs appropriate and adopt technological tools that strengthen their economic activities. .
“The implementation of this project gives us great pleasure, because today more than 95% of small and medium entrepreneurs work for the popular and social economy of the country, one of the objectives of President Gustavo Pedro. economy. Today we are executing on this plan and investing $10,000 million to improve online businesses because more is being bought and negotiated online. We want all sellers, merchants, shoppers to bring their products online, thus bridging the gap of digital transformation.” said ICT Minister, Mauricio Lizcano (@MauricioLizcano).
This year, 'Your Business Online' will continue to focus on actors of the popular economy, combining the agriculture and tourism sectors to promote the use and allocation of e-commerce. This is thanks to training, consulting and virtual support for creating and implementing online stores.
“The popular economy is a great force and that great machine needs support like funding, training in skills to end trickle down and strengthen its operations. That is why 'Your Online Business' is so important as it gives them the opportunity to train in digital and technical skills that will strengthen their businesses by improving their products and increasing sales. The project is a tool so that actors of the popular economy in the Atlantic can improve their businesses so that they take advantage of the opportunities that connectivity and the Internet offer. Therefore, we are in touch with the National Government and Ministry of ICT in this regard.said Carina Llanos Torres, representative of the governor of Atlantico.
Shoppers, traders, informal vendors and entrepreneurs who enroll in the program will receive virtual training on e-commerce business, adoption, allocation of technology tools, training, digital skills and capacity building in the e-commerce value chain. , as well as business consulting and e-commerce solution implementation support.
The Colombian Association of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACOBI) attended the launch of this project, led by Executive Director MarÃa Elena Ospina, who recognized the importance of digitizing their companies in the 21st century for entrepreneurs: “These programs actually create opportunities for entrepreneurial growth. With more than 1,500,000 micro businesses in the country representing 95.3% of the economy, the Ministry of ICT has made a major commitment to start from the ground up, from companies that do not have the means to digitize their businesses. On behalf of MSMEs and Popular Economy we would like to thank the Ministry for this scheme“.
Program completers will have a virtual store with other enhancements such as subdomain integration, hosting/site hosting, and shopping cart to enhance the digital era. Additionally, they will be provided digital payments, logistics operations, post-sales and technical support, free of charge for two years, and will be guided to implement digital marketing strategies that will enhance the virtual store and increase sales.
Manuel Fernandez, president of the Barranquilla Chamber of Commerce, highlighted the ministry's work in the regions: “Thank you for strengthening the partnership between the public and private sectors. This program and the alliance we have created facilitate better productivity for entrepreneurs. We know that information and communication technologies are fundamental to the development of the country.“.
As technical education is one of the pillars of making Colombia a digital powerhouse, Minister Liscano concluded his speech with a call to businessmen and entrepreneurs to improve their digital skills. This free offer includes Senatek, Talento Tech, Columbia Project and Generation TIC, available at www.mintic.gov.co.
