One of four primary programs of Bogotá’s new tech innovation fund is blockchain development.
Bogotá, Colombia’s capital, is investing in blockchain development as part of a larger investment in innovative technologies.
The municipal government of Bogotá would grant 8.8 billion Colombian pesos ($2.3 million) to local businesses as part of four new projects in the city’s Innovation, Technology, and Creative Industries Fund, or FITIC, according to a Monday announcement on the city’s official website.
The additional funding includes a 2.8 billion peso ($739,000) contribution to the development of local blockchain firms through the “Hub Blockchain Bogotá” program.
The project aims to help 100 blockchain-focused companies achieve their worldwide competitiveness by providing technical guidance on how to adopt blockchain in their businesses.
The Superior Mayor of Bogotá, the District Secretariat for Economic Development, Jorge Tadeo Lozano University, state entrepreneurial organization Innpulsa, and Singapore-based blockchain accelerator Tribe Accelerator are all supporting the new innovation funding program.
On Monday, Bogotá Mayor Claudia Lopez used Twitter to ask local businesses to register for the initiative, which will begin on June 25. “Each company will be able to receive from the FITIC from 10 to 50 million pesos in capital to be able to take their idea forward,” the mayor stated.
Colombia has been researching blockchain technology extensively. The Colombian Ministry of Information Technology and Communications urged the government to use blockchain technology in sectors such as payments, land registration, voting, data management, supply chain, and others in August.
Bogotá had earlier introduced a series of free online courses on a wide range of innovative technologies, including blockchain.