• For the second time, the CCB, together with the Centro Nacional de Consultoría, is conducting the Great Survey of the Businesses of Bogota and the Region in order to know the details of the entrepreneurs that make up the engine of the country's economy.

• Of the companies with commercial register, 43% were created in the last 5 years and 19% were created in the last 2 years.

• 83% of companies with commercial register use bank transactions as a means of payment, followed by cash 68%, and digital wallets with 55%.

• Of the total number of sole proprietorships, 43% are women and 57% are men.

Bogota, December 2022. The Great Survey of Businesses conducted by the Bogota Chamber of Commerce makes a 360° x-ray of the business fabric, of those businesses that are consolidated and those that are in the growth stage. In addition, it allows to know how the private sector is made up and what are the main differences between companies with commercial registration and productive units without commercial registration. Regarding the latter, the results concentrate on those operating in factories, premises and homes.

This survey, carried out jointly with the National Consulting Center, which was applied to 2,272 businessmen, is the only measurement in Bogota and the Region that makes an x-ray of the companies, their owners and decision makers, which provides tools to guide the construction of public policy and strategies for business strengthening.

One of the main conclusions revealed by this survey is that there is a marked difference in the level of business development in businesses that have commercial registration versus those that do not, especially in aspects such as the number of personnel employed, reasons for creation, self-recognition, means of payment, among others.

Main findings of the survey The survey reveals that, of the companies with commercial register, 43% were created in the last 5 years and 19% in the last 2 years, which shows a young entrepreneurial mass.

The Great Survey also allows to understand the reasons why companies and businesses are being created. Thus, half of the businesses created (51%) were started because they identified a business opportunity as one of the main reasons; 32% to exercise their trade or professional career and 12% have no other income alternative. In the case of the productive units without commercial register, it was 45%, 28% and 42% respectively.

Access to financing For the companies with commercial register, the three main sources of financing used to start this company or business were: own resources or savings (82%), family loans (37%), and bank loans (29%). This shows that there are still some important challenges for the use of bank resources to start the business. In the case of productive units without commercial register, it was 46%, 26% and 19%, respectively.

Employment The Great Survey allows for a characterization of those who work for companies in Bogota and the region. In this sense, 59% of the companies with commercial register have up to three employees, and 82% of the productive units without commercial registration have up to three employees, including the owner.

Characteristics of the workforce 10% of the companies mentioned having employed a person with a disability in the last 12 months, while in the productive units without commercial register this percentage reaches 6%.

Regarding the employability of young people, for companies with commercial register, 29% of people who worked there in the last 12 months are young people between 18 and 28 years old, including the owner or owners. In the case of productive units without commercial registration, this percentage is 27%.

Gender The Great Survey analyzes the participation of women in the ownership and decision making of companies. In this sense, when companies have a single owner, 43% of these are women, while 57% are men. When there are several owners, the participation of women in the shareholder composition is 40%.

On the other hand, 24% of the most important decisions in the companies are made by women when they have commercial registration, 30% by men, 44% jointly, and 2% by other mechanisms. In comparison, in productive units without commercial registration, 34% of decisions are made by women, 42% by men, 20% jointly and 4% by other mechanisms.

Companies in which decisions are made jointly by men and women show greater equity in the participation of women in management positions and, in general, in the workforce. They also show a greater presence of protocols to address cases of sexual harassment and goals that allow them to account for LGBTI inclusion initiatives.

Accounting The survey shows the importance of bookkeeping in companies and businesses, insofar as this is a fundamental mechanism for clarity in the way they operate, and is the main input for accessing bank financing.

According to the results of the survey, 74% of the companies with commercial register keep accounts, 43% of them have an accountant who is not part of the company's payroll, and in general 31% use specialized software for this task.

In contrast, 60% of the productive units that do not have a commercial register keep accounting records, 72% of which are managed by the owner, and in general, 84% use a notebook for this task.

Means of payment One of the most interesting results of the study is that it confirms the penetration of digital means of payment. To this extent, it was observed that among companies with commercial register, the most common means of payment are bank transactions, which are used by 83% of the companies. Likewise, digital wallets are used by 55% of them and payment platforms by 31%. Cash is used in 68% of the cases.

Even in productive units without commercial register, it is observed that 55% use digital wallets, 25% bank transactions and 14% payment platforms. However, in these businesses cash is still the most common means with 97%.

Marketing channels One of the results that stand out from the survey and that show an important change since the pandemic is the use of digital tools for sales, which has even surpassed physical channels such as the local one. Thus, 64% of the companies with Commercial Register use WhatsApp for this purpose, 51% social networks, and 50% web page. After these, 34% use a local store and 29% use low-cost market chains.

In businesses without commercial register, there is a significant challenge for the digitization of sales channels because although WhatsApp and social networks account for 21% and websites 31%, local premises account for 62% and public space for 24%.

To consult in detail the results of this survey go to www.ccb.org.co/observatorio.