Chile, the most innovative economy in the region, according to the Global Innovation Index

The World Intellectual Property Organization (OMPI) has revealed its latest edition of the Global Innovation Index, which ranks Chile as the most innovative economy in Latin America in 2021.

To develop this ranking for 132 countries, Ompi, which is part of the United Nations, takes into account factors such as institutions, human capital, research, infrastructure, business development and markets, as well as the creative production of knowledge.

Chile ranks 53rd in the world among the countries of the region. They are followed by Mexico in 55th place and Costa Rica and Brazil in 56th and 57th places, respectively.

Then Uruguay comes as the fifth largest economy creative Latin America, 65th in the world. Then Colombia ranked 67th out of 132.

At the top of the ranking, Switzerland ranked first among the world’s most innovative economies in 2021, followed by Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Korea. The Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, Denmark and Germany follow in that order.

In this release, the Index provides customized monitoring of the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic in innovation, research and development.

According to the Ompi study, governments and companies around the world have increased their investments in innovation, despite the human and economic costs caused by the pandemic last year.

Investment in innovation hit a record high before the epidemic, and R&D grew 8.5% in 2019.

In 2020, this data continued to grow: global publication of scientific articles increased by 7.6%; International patent applications, via Ompi, reached a new record high last year (3.5% increase due to medical technology, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology); In addition, venture capital agreements grew by 5.8%, which is more than the average growth rate of the past 10 years; Hence there were increases in other pillars.

In GII 2021, the innovative sectors of the global economy remain strong, despite the severe shocks. To beat the pandemic and build back better, we will need to continue to support the translation of great ideas into innovative products. “

However, this is not the case in Colombia. The country has been stuck at the bottom of the average rankings for the past three years, at 67th and 68th places.

In addition, Colombia ranks 17th out of 34 economies in the upper middle income group in the 2021 ranking.

Manolo Castro, Partner and Founder of Mindhack, a Colombian startup focused on fostering innovation within companies, emphasized: “We feel innovative, but we are resourceful. We are used to this counter-intuitive attitude and we do things. We are resourceful, but we are not innovative.” .

Regarding the GII, Castro added: “The most interesting thing about this ranking is that one of the main gaps comes from talent. You might think it has to do with infrastructure and other dynamics, but if you look at the details, it is presented in terms of talent, and it shows Something in a lot of projects, with companies looking for talent.”

In the introduction to the report, Ecopetrol President Philip Payon spoke about the company’s responsibility to drive innovation: “At Ecopetrol, we know we can’t do everything on our own, so we’ve strengthened our work in partnership with public and private entities, including Microsoft, IHS Markit, and Plug and Play. iNNpulsa Colombia, the Israel Innovation Authority, and the Colombian Ministry of Science.”