Versión Español
Last Wednesday, Bogotá witnessed the launch of the AppCircus Gala, an international, traveling showcase for Apps, brought by Mprende Magazine. The most prominent participants in Colombia’s entrepreneurial scene, such as Bavaria Foundation’s Investor Angels Network, HubBog and Ideame, as well as the Center for Liberty and Entrepreneurship attended to this event, with one goal: to find the most innovative app.
Out of the 56 apps submitted from all over the country, Transmisitp emerged as victor of the challenge. The creators of this app seek to provide information for users of public transportation, specifically to alleviate the complications from commuting in Bogotá. The creator team of this app will receive special support from the Investor Angels Network and represent Colombia in an international contest to be held next year in Spain.
Besides Transmisitp, the other nine finalists showed outstanding performances in the market. This is the case of the photo editing apps — Typic and Typic+, with over three million downloads worldwide — and Tappsi, which dominates the local market for cab services, with 750,000 downloads and 7 million performed services this year.
However, not all the apps were about business; there were two among the finalists that aimed to create social impact. The second-place app, Aquí Estoy, enables anyone to report cases of exploited children. By involving the app-users and allowing them to contribute to the rescue of these victims, this app also generates awareness of child labor. Another outstanding app was ColombiaLISTA, which helps to build social development by teaching personal finances to low-income mothers in the country.
Whether they have a commercial purpose or social cause, these apps displayed Colombian’s creativity and innovation. Furthermore, their results on the world market show their capability to compete on a global scale.
Further, events like AppCircus gala are an opportunity to showcase the power of individual entrepreneurs to achieve world change. Beyond creating wealth and jobs, they allow individual active participation for the younger generation towards a broader, positive impact.
