- Colombia’s ecosystem and talent base have grown well past support work, so the old view costs money and access to senior engineers.
- Any external market assumption older than three years needs a formal review with a named owner.
A five-person team in Colombia can save a company more than $800,000 a year. Some executives continue to rely on assessments formed from engagements as far back as 15 years ago.
For many, those early engagements focused primarily on support work or staff augmentation. The perceptions formed at the time have remained largely unchanged.
But the market has changed over the last couple of years – and many multinational companies like IBM, Accenture, and Microsoft can attest to it.
How Does a First Contract Become a Permanent Opinion?
Your first impression of a thing sets up your subsequent beliefs.
Decision makers weight early signals heavily and discount later ones. Once confidence sets in, new information gets ignored.
A company engaged a Colombian team for tier-one support in 2014, and the engagement was successful. However, the company continued to view Colombia primarily as a source of support services and additional staffing capacity.
The company never assigned anyone to revisit it, so the label hardened into institutional fact.
What Changed in Colombia Over the Last Few Years?
Current data paints a significantly different picture of Colombia’s tech sector than earlier assessments suggest.
How strong is the startup ecosystem?
- Colombia climbed from 46th to 38th in the Global Startup Ecosystem Report between 2020 and 2024.
- It now ranks second in Latin America, ahead of Chile.
- The country holds three unicorns, including Rappi at a $5.25 billion valuation.
How deep is the talent base?
- Colombia counts over 202,000 tech specialists.
- It adds 37,000 ICT graduates each year.
- AI and machine learning roles tripled as a share of client requests between 2024 and 2026.
This is product and platform work, far above the support tier where the old reputation lives.
What the Outdated Views Cost You
Leaders who still treat Colombia as a staff augmentation solution pay in two ways.
- Scarcity. The global tech talent shortage sits near 76%. Competitors who have re-assessed the market are already accessing senior engineering talent that outdated perceptions may have overlooked.
- Economics. Colombian engineers earn 50 to 75% less than US equivalents. That compounds to more than $800,000 in annual savings on a five-person team.
Developer hiring across Latin America grew 50% year over year between 2022 and 2024. The companies driving that growth treat the current data as more important than the original contract.
How Leaders Should Act
Initial assessments of a market reflect conditions at a specific point in time. As markets like Colombia continue to evolve, leaders who regularly reassess their assumptions can make decisions based on current data rather than outdated perceptions.
Organizations that fail to reassess their assumptions risk higher costs and missed opportunities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why do companies still underestimate Colombia’s tech talent?
A: Their view often comes from the first contract they signed there, usually support or staff augmentation. The judgment formed then, and the company never reviewed it while the market changed.
Q: How has Colombia’s tech market changed?
A: It rose from 46th to 38th in the Global Startup Ecosystem Report between 2020 and 2024 and ranks second in Latin America. It also has three unicorns, over 202,000 tech specialists, and 37,000 new ICT graduates a year.
Q: How often should leaders review their assumptions about an external market?
A: Any assumption that formed more than three years ago deserves a formal review. Assign an owner, pull current data on talent depth and ecosystem maturity, and compare it against what your organization believes.
