Foreword

OECD Reviews of Digital Transformation: Going Digital in Colombia is part of a new series of OECD country reviews. The OECD Reviews of Digital Transformation analyse recent developments of the digital economy in countries, review policies related to digitalisation and make recommendations to increase policy coherence in this area.

Going Digital in Colombia examines recent developments in infrastructures for the digital economy, telecom markets, and related regulations and policies in Colombia. It reviews trends in the use of digital technologies by individuals, businesses and the government, and examines policies to foster diffusion. The Review also examines opportunities and challenges raised by digitalisation in key areas and analyses policy responses to these changes. The areas covered range from productivity and trade to innovation, the labour market and skills in the digital economy.

The Review reconsiders these policies in relation to their coherence among different domains and in order to foster synergies across government ministries, levels and institutions, based on the Integrated Policy Framework of the OECD-wide Going Digital: Making the Transformation Work for Growth and Well-being project.

Going Digital in Colombia was undertaken following an invitation by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies of Colombia, which also provided financial support. The Review was carried out by the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation under the auspices of the OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy.

The review was prepared by a team led by Vincenzo Spiezia and including Rory O’Farrell, Maximilian Reich, Jan Tscheke and Verena Weber, under the supervision of Anne Carblanc, Head of the Digital Economy Division. Anders Hektor, Science and Innovation Counsellor to the Swedish Embassy in Seoul, provided inputs as an independent “peer” reviewer.

The authors owe much to the support and co-operation of the Commission for Communications Regulation of Colombia, in particular Germán Dario Arias Pimienta, former Executive Director and Commissioner; Juan Manuel Wilches Duran, former Commissioner; Mariana Sarmiento, Co-ordinator; and Alejandro Delgado, Consultant.

The Review draws on the results of a series of interviews with a wide range of stakeholders during two missions to Colombia in December 2017 and September 2018, including: Víctor Muñoz and Felipe Buitrago (Presidencia de la República), Nicolas Palau (Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism), Sylvia Constain (Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies), Martha Suárez (ANE), Paola Bonilla and Juan Pablo García (National Planning Department), Juan Daniel Oviedo (DANE), Catalina García-Cure (DIAN), David Melo (Ministry of Culture), Nelson Remolina (SIC), Camilo Fernández de Soto and Jennifer Pineda (Colombia Productiva), Martha Bustamante (Ministry of Labour), Renzo García (Colciencias), Diana Silva (Ministry of Education), Jairo Velasco (Ministry of Finance and Public Credit), Alberto Yohai (CCIT), Alberto Solano (Andesco), Santiago Pinzón (ANDI), Ximena Duque (Fedesoft), Jorge Caldas (CAOBA), Luis Carlos Trujillo (CEA), Alejandro Franco (RUTA N), Carolina Botero (Fundación Karisma), Freddy Castro (Banca de las Oportunidades), Sandra Villota (Superfinanciera), Felipe Lega (URF), Wilson Prieto (colCERT), Ignacio Gaitán (iNNpulsa), Mario Castaño (CINTEL), Flavia Toro (ProColombia), ANTV, Centro Cibernético Policial, Colombia Compra Eficiente, SENA, Cámara Colombiana de Comercio Electrónico, Claro, Telefónica, ETB, Avantel, Tigo-Une, Connect Bogotá, HubBOG and DIRECTV.

On 25 May 2018, the OECD Council invited Colombia to become a Member. At the time of publication the deposit of Colombia’s instrument of accession to the OECD Convention was pending and therefore Colombia does not appear in the list of OECD Members and is not included in the OECD zone aggregates.

Foreword