2024-08-26 03:27:03
The Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism has revealed in its most recent Business Network report that the country has reached a historic figure of 1.56 million active companies, marking the highest point in the last decade. This growth has been driven mainly by the services sector, which groups together the largest number of companies, and by a significant female participation in the business sector.
The report, which covers the period from January to July 2024, shows a 0.8% growth in the number of active companies. compared to the same period last year, when 1.54 million units were registered. This increase has been mainly distributed in Bogotá, which concentrates 24% of the total with approximately 374,000 companies. It is followed by Antioquia, with 13.8% (216,000 companies), Valle del Cauca with 8.9% (139,000 companies) and Cundinamarca with 6.7% (104,000 companies).
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Predominance of microenterprises
The Colombian business fabric is mostly made up of micro-enterprises, which represent 94.2% of the total, with nearly 1.47 million units.Small businesses make up 4.2% of the total, totalling some 65,400, while medium and large businesses, with 15,900 and 5,665 units respectively, represent 1% and 0.36% of the national total.
The service sector leads the way
By sector, services is the one that has grouped the most companies so far this year, with 653,500 units representing 41.9% of the total. It is followed by commerce, with 628,200 companies, equivalent to 40.2% of the total. Manufacturing and construction participate with 10.4% and 4.7% respectively, totaling 162,700 and 73,100 companies. Other economic activities group the remaining 3%.
Women-led companies
A highlight of the report is the female predominance in the business world. Of the total number of Active companies established as natural persons, 57.3% belong to womenwhile 41.5% were men, and 1.1% did not report gender information. This trend reinforces the key role of women in the country’s economic development.
The Ministry of Commerce reported that 427,000 companies are waiting to renew their business registration, a crucial step to continue receiving the benefits of the country’s chambers of commerce. If these renewals are completed, Colombia could close the year with nearly 2 million active companies.
As for job creation, the report indicates that the number of employed people has remained stable so far this year.with a total of 22.9 million jobs. In particular, in June 2024, there was an increase in the number of employees in micro, medium and large enterprises, with variations of 0.9%, 0.1% and 2.1% respectively.
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