RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the 1970s, American economist David Birch used a metaphor from the animal kingdom to describe companies’ diversity and impact.
According to him, micro-enterprises are like mice, there are many, but they do not grow and do not have an impact on the creation of new jobs.
Large companies are elephants; they move slowly and do not generate many new jobs. In contrast, young companies that grow rapidly and create more new jobs are gazelles.
Over time, this metaphor has been enriched with more animals, creating what Hugo Kantis calls “an entrepreneurial safari.”
Kantis describes that there are also other species such as kangaroos, which are slow but take off strong; dolphins, which emerge to the surface and then dive; and even some mythological ones admired for their rarity, such as unicorns, companies valued at more than US$1 billion.
Under this metaphor, gazelles, kangaroos, dolphins, and others fall within the definition we know today as “dynamic ventures“. Understood as those with high growth potential, thanks to the fact that they are based on innovation, usually of a technological nature.
Due to the great benefits that dynamic enterprises bring to the economy and social welfare, several countries have focused their efforts and resources on promoting them.
In Colombia, most ventures tend to be survival or necessity (mice), not dynamic. This situation is reflected in a legal system that mainly focuses on promoting the creation of SMEs regardless of whether they have innovation components.
Despite the above, in Colombia, some instruments promote the increase of dynamic enterprises.
In tax matters, to name a few, there are two large groups of tax benefits for this type of enterprise: (i) those related to science, technology, and innovation; and (ii) those related to creative activities or technological added value (orange economy).
The former include VAT exemption for equipment importation, deductions, discounts, and tax credits for investments in research, development, and technological innovation projects.
The second group includes benefits such as exempt income for orange economy companies and authors and translators of scientific or cultural books. In addition, there are tax deductions and discounts for investments made in film projects, creative economy projects, audiovisual works, and public shows.
A key aspect of the development of any dynamic enterprise is human capital. In Colombia, there are incentives to hire highly qualified personnel in science, technology, and innovation.
There are also benefits for hiring people under 28 years of age, who are often the driving force of the enterprises. These incentives consist of state contributions, deductions, and exemption from contributions to compensation funds, among others.
Although Colombia has taken concrete steps to promote dynamic entrepreneurship initiatives, several avenues remain to be explored.
More mechanisms must be developed to encourage the creation and sustainable growth of dynamic enterprises so that there are not only mice and elephants but also gazelles, dolphins, unicorns, or any new species that contribute to the ecosystem.
The ideal safari would be one where all animals live together in harmony and have opportunities to subsist and grow.
With information from Asuntos Legales
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