VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #0001/01 3662145
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY ADX0152642 MSI6179 611)
R 010001Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6341
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 8576
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1472
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JAN LIMA 6860
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 7557
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 2825

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000001 
 
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y DTG CHANGE TO 010001Z JAN 09 
 
SIPDIS 
OES/STC FOR KDELAK; WHA/EPSC FOR FCOLON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD KCIS PGOV EINV CO
SUBJECT: MEDELLIN DREAMS OF SILICON VALLEY 
 
¶1. SUMMARY.  The Department of Antioquia, through its 
industrial hub Medellin, aspires to become the leading 
science and technology (S&T) development area of Colombia. 
The Medellin Mayor's Office has identified S&T as one of its 
four growth sectors and a priority for channeling public and 
private investment.  As initial steps, the Department plans 
to increase the budget of its S&T planning institution and 
build a technological park.  However, local and international 
experts acknowledge turning Medellin into "Colombia's Silicon 
Valley" remains difficult without significant investment from 
foreign technology firms or increased central government 
funding.  END SUMMARY. 
S&T as Priority Sector 
---------------------- 
 
¶2.  As part of its economic planning process, the Department 
of Antioquia and the city of Medellin have identified S&T 
development as one of four competitiveness/growth sectors for 
investment along with infrastructure, human resources, and 
commerce.  According to Carlos Cano of ProAntioquia 
(Antioquia's privately-funded promotion entity), Mayor Alonso 
Salazar aims to transform Medellin into a city known for 
scientific innovation rather than only manufacturing and 
commerce.  The Science and Technology Center of Antioquia 
(CTA) -- a public-private partnership founded by the 
municipal government in 1989 -- stands at the center of this 
effort with responsibility for the development and 
implementation of a regional S&T strategy.  As evidence of 
the Mayor,s commitment to promote S&T, Cano said the 
municipal government will increase its funding of the CTA in 
2009, but noted that the exact figure is still to be 
determined. 
 
Science & Technology Center Leads The Way 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  The Director of the CTA, Santiago Echeverri, said that 
CTA's role is to assist both the public and private sector to 
implement S&T projects and plans.  While the CTA has a 
think-tank component, he said its primary role is to develop 
and coordinate actual S&T projects within the Department of 
Antioquia, such as promoting e-government and technologically 
advanced water filtration and aqueduct systems.  CTA projects 
also focus on private sector innovation and competitiveness, 
by introducing S&T best practices, and on S&T education 
within primary and high schools.  Echeverri emphasized that 
no other department has an equivalent organization, which he 
believes uniquely positions Antioquia to become Colombia's 
primary S&T center. 
 
Build Technology Park and FDI Will Come 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Both Cano and Echeverri highlighted the developing 
technological park in Medellin as the Department's main S&T 
project.  The Medellin Mayor's Office has purchased the 
necessary land and designated USD 12 million for the 
construction of two buildings to serve as a technological 
center.  The center will focus on promoting S&T development 
in the health, energy and software sectors.  Cano said the 
Medellin Mayor's Office is reaching out to the private sector 
and the national government for the additional funding needed 
to complete construction.  With such support, the municipal 
government hopes to begin operations in mid-2010.  The park 
will offer incentives, such as reduced rent, lower taxes and 
increased bandwidth speed, to attract a large foreign 
tech-based company such as Unisys, Microsoft or Cisco. 
Echeverri and the CTA will lead an Antioquia S&T delegation 
to Silicon Valley during the first half of 2009, to make 
contacts with potential U.S. investors, learn U.S. best 
practices, and lay the groundwork for broadening the S&T 
horizon of Medellin. 
 
¶5.  Despite the high hopes placed on the park as a catalyst 
for S&T development, S&T development expert and USG-sponsored 
speaker Brian Cabrera cautioned Medellin leaders about the 
prioritization put on the park during his visit to Medellin 
in September 2008.  Cabrera noted that historically 
government-created S&T centers rarely produced sustainable 
clusters of technological advancement such as Silicon Valley. 
 In addition to physical structures, other factors including 
thriving research centers, university-private sector 
partnerships, and venture capital were also needed.  Rather 
than focusing on construction and building specifics, Cabrera 
encouraged local leaders to clearly identify Medellin's 
comparative advantage, establish a long-term business plan 
outlining which products and customers to target, and then 
seek out leading international S&T companies to invest in the 
region.  He also suggested that Medellin collaborate, rather 
than compete, with Colombia's other nascent technology 
centers--Bogota and Cali--to identify partnerships and 
coordinate on development plans.  Integrated into a broader 
S&T strategy, Cabrera said the three regions stand a greater 
chance of attracting international technology investment. 
 
More National Funding Needed 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6.  According to Cano, S&T development in Colombia also 
remains constrained by the current reliance on municipal 
government support with only minimal help from national 
institutions.  Colombia's National Science and Technology 
Development Institute (Colciencias) does provide 
supplementary funding to municipal projects already underway, 
but is focused primarily on supporting individual research 
and has no consistent funding for broader initiatives. 
Echeverri likewise complained that national support is 
available only if an organization has already developed and 
invested in a specific project.  The lack of national 
government funding is compounded by limited S&T investment 
from Colombia's private sector and the nascent state of 
venture capital in Colombian markets.  In his meetings, 
Cabrera underscored that venture capital is especially 
important in Medellin's case, given that the majority of the 
city's S&T funding is allocated to the tech park. 
 
COMMENT: Noble Goals, But Attainable? 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  While Colciencias has identified the Department of 
Antioquia as one of Colombia,s three leading S&T regions (in 
addition to Cali and Bogota) based on Medellin containing 
some of the country's finest science and engineering 
universities and the existence of the CTA, Medellin faces 
significant obstacles to fulfilling its goal of becoming 
"Colombia's Silicon Valley".  Attracting FDI and national 
government support will be key to building on Medellin,s 
impressive human capital and turning its S&T vision into 
reality.  The global economic slump will undoubtedly 
complicate efforts to attract FDI in the near-term, but 
passage of a new S&T law in early December 2008 elevating 
Colciencias to quasi-ministerial status and increasing its 
research budget (septel) offers at least some hope for 
national government help in developing Medellin as a 21st 
century S&T center. 
BROWNFIELD