iQor Holdings, a US-based holding company providing business process outsourcing (BPO) services, has opened a new 2,300 square-metre contact centre in Medellín, Colombia. The company will create 500 new jobs with plans for expansion later in 2023.

iQor employs 40,000 people across more than 50 call centres in ten countries: Canada, Colombia, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Trinidad and Tobago and its US base. Though iQor is renowned for its BPO expertise, it has recently shifted to work as an end-to-end customer support organisation. The company privately owned by Huntsman Gay Global Capital.

The move comes as a boost for both Medellín and Colombia. Attracting more foreign direct investment (FDI) a key element of the left-wing Gustavo Petro’s successful presidential campaign in mid-2022, who was keen to build on the country’s 21st-century image reversal from drug-dominated no-go area to Latin American FDI haven.

Medellín is Colombia second largest city, behind only capital Bogotá, boasting a population of more than 2.5 million people. Its economy was traditionally built upon industries such as steel, textiles, food and beverage, agriculture, chemical products, pharmaceuticals and oil, but BPO has become more popular in the city in recent years.