Sometimes you don't understand a country through numbers at first, but through a single moment.
For Dr. Fritz Audebert, it was a rainbow in Bogotá that spanned the entire city. Beneath it lay a metropolis with nearly 11 million people. A country more than three times the size of Germany, with ports on the Caribbean (Cartagena) and the Pacific (Buenaventura), with enormous natural resources and a GDP per capita of just under $8,000. By comparison, in Germany this figure stands at around $53,000.
Colombia is a country of contrasts. And that is precisely why it is a country with great potential.
At the invitation of Gunther Neubert, CEO of the Cámara Colombo-Alemana | AHK Colombia, we had the opportunity to deliver a keynote address to the AHK Next Generation and the chamber’s staff: over 50 young executives who are helping to shape the future of German-Colombian economic relations.
Dr. Fritz Audebert spoke about interculturalism, power, and the future in a world where China, India, Europe, and Latin America are rebalancing their roles.
What particularly impressed him?
The energy of these young people. The openness of the discussion. And the seriousness with which they spoke about Colombia’s future. Colombia’s economy is still heavily dominated by the primary sector. At the same time, one encounters a young generation that wants more than just a continuation of the status quo.
His visit to the German Embassy German Embassy in Bogotá will continue to have a lasting impact. Simon Herchen (Deputy Ambassador) gave him an impressive insight into Colombia: a country whose opportunities can only be understood by taking its history, political situation, and geographical significance seriously.
This is precisely why embassies and Chambers of Commerce are such important partners for companies like ICUnet: they help us see a country not just as a market, but to understand its history, culture, and present. They build bridges where pure economic logic often falls short.
Between appointments, there was still time to visit the Museo Botero and the Plaza de Bolívar. In Bogotá, art, history, and the present are all intertwined. Especially in front of the Palace of Justice, it was palpable just how deeply the years of violence and terror have shaped Colombia.
Perhaps that is precisely why the rainbow over Bogotá was such a powerful image: it did not obscure history. But it showed that the future is possible.
Now we’re heading to Mexico: to our ICUnet office in Puebla and to a new recording session for Björn Lisker’s Mexico podcast. There, too, another shift in perspective awaits us: Mexico’s GDP per capita is nearly twice that of Colombia, and it is another key economic market in Latin America.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Gunther Neubert, Carolina Santana, and Simon Herchen for the invitation, the open discussions, and the valuable insights. This trip has once again shown Dr. Fritz Audebert how much can be achieved when people are willing to listen, learn, and shape the future together across borders.