TL;DR Colombia has over 53 million people, most of them online, and a middle-income economy with big cities and a large farm sector. That is enough room to build for the home market first. The ideas that fit help small firms handle money safely, get farm produce to buyers and export markets, and make city services and power bills work better.

The market in numbers

  • Population: about 53.4 million in 2025[1].
  • GDP per capita: about US$8,560 in 2025[2].
  • Internet use: about 79% of people were online in 2024[3].
  • Remittances: personal remittances received were about 2.9% of GDP in 2025[4].
  • Currency: the Colombian peso (COP), issued by the Banco de la República[5].
  • Tax and customs: both run through one agency, the DIAN[6].

What founders here actually have to work with

Size is the first advantage. Unlike most countries on this list you can build for local customers alone and still have a business worth running. Several large cities give you more than one launch market, so a good test is whether the idea works in a second city without you there.

Small businesses are the core buyer for many ideas below. They pay suppliers, chase customers and take short credit, and the tools they use are often thin. That's where fraud checks, reconciliation and stock credit fit.

Farming is the second big theme. Coffee, fruit and flowers are major exports [Requires validation], which means export paperwork, traceability and cold storage all matter. And with remittances near 3% of GDP[4], families with relatives abroad are a real channel for some products. Financial ideas sit under the Superintendencia Financiera[7], so budget time for that conversation early.

Ideas that fit Colombia

These were all researched for India. The rupee figures and Indian licences don't carry over, so use each one as a brief and rebuild the local detail.

Money for small businesses

  • Payeelock: Checking a supplier's bank details before every payment fits any market where invoice fraud hits SMEs. Partner with a bank or an accounting software firm for reach.
  • Bossproof: Fake "urgent payment" requests from the boss are a universal scam. Sell it to accountants who run finance for many small firms.
  • Reorderly: Short stock credit for neighbourhood hardware shops, ordered through their distributor. Lending rules mean this needs a licensed partner [Requires validation].
  • Creditstory: Turning years of group savings repayments into a file a lender will read. You'd swap Indian self-help groups for local savings groups and cooperatives [Requires validation].
  • Stagepurse: Escrow that releases money stage by stage on home renovation jobs. A bank has to hold the funds, so the bank is your first customer.

Farms and exports

  • Plotorigin: Plot maps and lot records for coffee sold into the EU fit Colombia's coffee trade directly. Start with one cooperative and one buyer.
  • Coldcart: Shared cold pickups from farm clusters to pack-houses cut fruit losses. Pick one crop and one valley to prove it.
  • Soilround: A soil test for every plot each season, sold through farmer cooperatives. Find a local lab partner before you sell anything.
  • Cropdoctor: Crop advice that sells no inputs, so farmers can trust it. Agronomists who speak to farmers in their own terms make or break this.
  • Furrowlight: One loan for a share of a solar pump plus the season's inputs, repaid at harvest. Needs a lender willing to price crop risk.
  • Presentwell: Checking export papers against the letter of credit before the bank sees them saves small exporters money. Sell to freight forwarders.
  • Exportmoney: Tracking each shipment until the money lands. Rebuild it around DIAN customs filings[6].

Energy and cities

  • Ampshelf: One view of every store's power bill for retail and restaurant chains. Easy pilot, clear savings story.
  • Lullcharge: Charging schedules for home solar batteries. Check local tariffs first, since the Indian time-of-day logic won't map one to one [Requires validation].
  • Dusklog: Uptime and repair tracking for solar streetlights in rural towns. Municipalities are the buyer, so plan for slow sales.
  • Leakfinder: Acoustic leak surveys paid per leak found suit city water utilities losing supply underground.
  • Wardline: Speed audits and feedback signs outside schools. Pitch to city transport departments.
  • Daycharge: Solar-backed charging yards for electric delivery and taxi fleets in mid-size cities.

Tourism and schools

  • Ratecove: Small hosts in coastal and coffee-region towns juggle rates and local tourism paperwork. Swap the Goa rules for Colombian ones [Requires validation].
  • Mazewalk: A coping-skills game course for teens, run by school counsellors. Translate it properly, don't just subtitle it.

Rules to check before you start

Companies are usually registered through a local chamber of commerce [Requires validation]. Tax and customs registration goes through the DIAN[6]. The Banco de la República is the central bank[5], and banks, lenders and payment firms are supervised by the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia[7]. Health, food and drug ideas will need a health regulator's approval [Requires validation].

This is a starting list, not legal advice. Check with a local lawyer or the agency itself.

Questions founders ask

Software and services for small businesses cost the least to start. Payeelock, Bossproof and Ampshelf above can begin with a few pilot customers and a small team.

Do foreigners need a local partner to start a company in Colombia?

I couldn't confirm a local partner rule from an official source. Check with your local chamber of commerce and the DIAN before you commit.

Should I start in one city or go national?

One city. Prove the idea works there, then test whether it holds in a second city without you running it day to day.

Talk to Yash

Colombia is big enough to build for at home, which makes choosing the first city and first customer the real decision. I'm happy to think it through with you. If you need a hand, you know where to find me.

Talk to Yash →

Sources

  1. World Bank, "Population, total: Colombia", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/COL/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?format=json&mrv=1
  2. World Bank, "GDP per capita (current US$): Colombia", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/COL/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?format=json&mrv=1
  3. World Bank (ITU data), "Individuals using the Internet (% of population): Colombia", 2024. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/COL/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  4. World Bank, "Personal remittances, received (% of GDP): Colombia", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/COL/indicator/BX.TRF.PWKR.DT.GD.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  5. Banco de la República, home page, 2026. https://www.banrep.gov.co/
  6. Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales (DIAN), home page, 2026. https://www.dian.gov.co/
  7. Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, home page, 2026. https://www.superfinanciera.gov.co/

For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.