The ‘UNWTO Tourism Tech Adventure: Scaling Up´ organized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) with the support of the Colombian government, gathered 700 participants from around the world. Start-ups, academia, corporations, investors, business incubators and accelerators, discussed with the public sector how to strengthen and scale innovative business ideas for sustainable tourism development.
The event served as a backdrop for the first Colombian platform for entrepreneurship and tourism innovation, which aims at creating synergies between relevant stakeholders, exchanging success stories and fostering a venture capital investment culture. The forum also served as a space for seed and growth stage investors to share insights on how to face the challenges of scaling up, or how to approach and engage with investors. Amadeus Ventures, Bluebox, Angel Ventures and Dux Capital are among the firms present.
Prior to the Forum, 15 Colombian startups participated in a Startup MasterClass. UNWTO partner IE Business School offered feedback on their pitches, business plans and sustainability focus, and provided overall advice on how to attract investment. This hands-on event was followed by an actual start up competition with the top prize going to James Figueroa from GDX Travel. The second prize went to Eduardo Maldonado from Tourbitz and the third to Miguel Antonio Paez from Escappy Travel.
The winner will be given access to collaborate at the Wayra Coworking Space in the capital Bogotá, including personalized mentoring from the Wayra Colombia team. The winner will also have the opportunity to once more present the project pitch in the framework of the 23rd Meeting of the UNWTO General Assembly (9-13 September 2019, Saint Petersburg, Russia).