Carolina Duran

Born in Colombia, Carolina Duran is an Economist from the University of Barcelona and the University of the Andes, with a Master’s

Degree in International Relations and Public Administration from Columbia University, and studies on Social Change at Stanford University.

With +20 years of experience in the public and private sector, Carolina has worked in Business Development for Latin America at Citibank

Bangalore, India; she has been an advisor to the Presidency of the Colombian Banking Association and served as First Secretary in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, where she created ‘Colombia Nos Une’ (Colombia Unites Us).

She was Executive Director of Corporación Ventures, an entity dedicated since 1999 to promote the creation and growth of sustainable business projects in Colombia, where she served more than 30 thousand ventures and supported 300 companies that generated more than 12 thousand jobs per year. Carolina was also recognized as one of the 100 leaders of society in Colombia in 2019 —for promoting inclusion, diversity and the empowerment of women in business. Carolina has channeled more than $100 million USD in VC to the Colombian entrepreneurial ecosystem through her multiple projects and initiatives —connecting the city of Bogota, globally, with countries such as Singapore, Spain, France, England, Israel, the United States, Mexico, Ecuador, Spain, Arab Emirates, among others.

During her time in public administration, she managed to put Bogota on the national and international agenda for its economic reactivation strategies —as Secretary of Economic Development of Bogota (a position she held until 2022), such as ‘Bogota a Cielo Abierto’ and urban development strategies such as ‘Distrito Innovaccion’. She was awarded as woman of the decade by the WEF (Women Economic Forum) in 2022 in recognition for her work as Secretary of Economic Development of Bogota —thanks to the implementation of programs that encourage digital projects, the idea and materialization of the innovation district, and the reactivation of the entrepreneurial fabric and the business network. She was honored with the ‘Iconic Women Creating a Better World for All’ award in 2019. This award recognizes women who emerge as leaders for their entrepreneurial spirit and creative actions and who generate the engaging/influencing power that unites cultures and nations across borders and around fraternity and exchange. In 2023, the Bogota City Council awarded her with the ‘Order for

Entrepreneurial Merit’, in recognition for Carolina’s work in promoting entrepreneurial activation, digital innovation (and the inclusion of digital ventures as business incubators), as well as market internationalization, as strategies leading the digital transformation for the SME’s ecosystem in the city —as a mitigation strategy for economic reactivation in COVID pandemic times. Carolina is an international speaker, innovation advisor and member of several national and international boards such as the Global Innovation Council. She is a Fulbright Scholar, Maguire Scholar, and Colfuturo Scholar. Based in Bogota, she is a mother of twins, a global citizen and a digital nomad

Videos

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/cyo7wbz3oc3je6c/AADZMpJtxAUNrb36x380umoNa?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s2p7n2q86r7yrde/Wonder%20Woman%20%26%20Corp%20Ventures.mp4?dl=0

Books & Articles

Alianza busca expandir los negocios de 200 empresarias colombianas

Nasdaq Foundation y Building Markets anuncian SER Colombia: programa para empresarias