Caliruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Sugar & agroindustry
Ingenio Manuelita, Incauca, Riopaila Castilla, Mayagüez
The Valle del Cauca sugar cane belt around Cali is the industrial base the city was built on, now extending into ethanol, packaging and food processing.
Pharmaceuticals & medical devices
Tecnoquímicas, Baxter, Genfar, Lafrancol
Cali is Colombia's pharmaceutical manufacturing centre — Tecnoquímicas is headquartered here and Baxter runs one of its largest Latin American plants nearby.
Banking & financial services
Banco de Occidente, Coomeva, Grupo Bolívar operations
Banco de Occidente is a Cali institution and one of the few major Colombian banks headquartered outside Bogotá, anchoring a real regional financial sector.
Business process outsourcing
Bilingual contact centres and shared-services operations
A large and growing nearshore services sector, helped by lower salary costs than Bogotá and a substantial pool of bilingual university graduates.
Logistics & Pacific trade
Buenaventura port corridor, freight and customs operators
Cali is the inland city for Buenaventura, Colombia's main Pacific port about two hours west, which makes it the country's Pacific trade and customs hub.
Health services & medical tourism
Fundación Valle del Lili, Clínica Imbanaco, Centro Médico Imbanaco
Fundación Valle del Lili is consistently ranked among Latin America's best hospitals, and Cali draws patients from across the south-west and from Ecuador.
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