When you think of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, tech might not be the first thing that comes to mind. Yet Barranquilla is steadily emerging as a strategic hub for innovation, leveraging its central location, growing talent base, and strong entrepreneurial energy.
In this episode, we visit Tech Caribe, the region’s flagship technology conference, to explore how Barranquilla is positioning itself on the global tech map. Our guest, Anuar Harb, founder of Fundación Código Abierto and the driving force behind Tech Caribe, shares how the city’s ecosystem is evolving through community initiatives, international partnerships, and the commitment to sustainable growth. We also hear from Andrés Rincón, an engineer in our team at AgilityFeat who spoke at the Tech Caribe conference about “Real-Time Conversations with AI”.
Listen to the full episode of Scaling Tech to discover more about Barranquilla’s thriving startup scene and the exciting future of tech operations in Latin America!
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About Our Guest
Name: Anuar Harb
What he does: Anuar Harb is on a mission to transform Colombia’s Atlantic and Caribbean regions into its biggest tech hub! With over 10 years of software development experience across startups and multinationals in the US, Mexico, and Colombia, he understands what tech ecosystems need to thrive. Through Fundación Código Abierto in Barranquilla, he’s building community via hackathons and meetups, offering specialized AI education, creating career opportunities through job boards and consulting, and providing startup funding and incubation.
Key Insights
⚡Communities are the true backbone of tech growth. Beyond formal education, the community in Barranquilla is driving knowledge-sharing and innovation. Anuar says, “Technology has been evolving a lot. Now, with AI and the new frameworks that we have, we can build a lot of things. That’s why I want to share with everybody, I think the community is the backbone of technology. We can learn technology in university, or we can learn in different places, but just when you have someone by your side that has been through that and can give you tips and can experiment with you, I think that’s where real learning and innovation can happen.”
⚡Barranquilla is ready for investment. With talent, enthusiasm, and growing institutional support, the city represents a smart bet for companies expanding in Latin America. Anuar says, “The communities have this really big push. I think we’re trying to create this synergy between private companies, but also the government. For example, we were able to get some scholarships that the government was funding. And so I think the tech community here in Barranquilla will continue to grow, and will become more specialized. But I think that what’s needed is that companies start to look into Barranquilla, like a valid option to hire people, but also, for example, to open an office or something like that. “
⚡ University partnerships are strategic. Hackathons and workshops bridge the gap between academia and industry, helping students turn their ideas into real-world solutions and viable business opportunities. This further fuels Barranquilla’s tech ecosystem. As Anuar explains, “We also try to push them to create something that can become a real thing. And the universities have been really interested in that kind of dynamic, that actually, on the next Saturday, we will have a hackathon just for students. I think that universities sometimes need that help with the newer topics, so that’s where we help.”
Episode Highlights
Barranquilla’s tech scene is growing from the ground up.
Barranquilla may not be the first city that comes to mind when thinking about Colombia’s tech hubs, but its technology ecosystem is steadily taking shape. Anuar says, “I think Barranquilla is a city that is growing, and what grows beside the city stays. So I’m pretty glad to say that technology is growing because we are experiencing a lot of new communities being created. There are people that want to learn about JavaScript, or about Python, or about Java, or about WebRTC, or about different things. And they organically get together to host these events or to host a meetup just to talk about these technologies, and that’s something that I think creates the environment to become a tech hub.”
Barranquilla’s tech talent is booming.
The city is not just growing in numbers, but also in technical depth and specialization. This combination is what makes the city a fertile ground for innovative tech projects. Anuar says, “A lot of talent or a lot of developers work with JavaScript, with React, and now they’re working with AI. AI is the hot topic, so everyone is learning about that, how to consume the APIs, how to make a rack, how to make fine-tuning, how to create their own or set up their own open source models. So I think that’s a pretty interesting topic because I know a lot of people here at Barranquilla that are working in really complex algorithms for video recognition or things like that.”
Fundación Código Abierto connects talent with opportunities.
Building a thriving tech ecosystem requires more than just talent. It also requires opportunity and support, and that’s where Fundación Código Abierto in Barranquilla comes in. They focus on three pillars: community, education, and job connections. Anuar explains, “What we do is that we connect people or developers with companies, but also we give advice to people that want to create their own project and how to build it, or with the technical skills that they will need, and try to connect them also with developers. Because I think that technology is a great industry, but sometimes if you don’t have an opportunity or until you get that opportunity, it’s difficult to stay focused.”