Bitso —the leading financial services company powered by crypto in  Latin America— has announced the appointment of Juanita Rodríguez Kattah as the Country Manager for Colombia. In this role, she will lead and oversee the company's operations within the country. 

According to the latest report on the Crypto Landscape in Latin America, Colombia ranks second in year-on-year user growth among the countries where Bitso operates, with a 17% increase over the previous period. In her new role, Juanita Rodríguez Kattah aims to solidify Bitso's presence in the  Colombian market, enhance user growth and crypto adoption, and expand the Bitso Business division.  Her focus will be on encouraging more companies to adopt blockchain-based payment solutions,  thereby increasing their profitability and enabling seamless national and international transactions. 

“This challenge excites me because it offers the opportunity to contribute to the growth of the sector from  a company that is serious, regulated, and secure, having firmly established itself since beginning  operations in Colombia in 2022. I am committed to advancing Bitso’s mission of making the benefits of  blockchain technology accessible to business clients for real-time payments and transfers. I also look  forward to actively promoting and participating in public policy and regulatory discussions to protect  Colombian users and foster innovation in the country. I am particularly thrilled to embrace this challenge  as a woman,” said Rodríguez Kattah. 

In the last semester of 2023, women made up 33% of Bitso users in Colombia, the highest proportion of female users in the region. However, in the first half of 2024, this figure decreased by 7 percentage points to 26%, placing Colombia 1 percentage point below the regional average, with 74% of users in the country being male. 

Rodríguez Kattah holds a law degree from the Universidad de los Andes, a Master’s degree in  Information Systems Management from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and postgraduate studies in New Technologies, Innovation, and City Management from the Universidad Externado de  Colombia. She has also pursued additional studies in international business law, cybersecurity, and compliance. Throughout her career, Rodríguez has led various technological innovation, digital entrepreneurship, and digital transformation initiatives, excelling in leadership roles across both public and private sectors. 

Her extensive experience includes roles such as Counselor at the Colombian Embassy in the U.S., Vice  Minister of Digital Economy at the Ministry of ICT, Director of Science, Technology, and Innovation at the Ministry of Defense, and Vice Chancellor of Innovation at EAN University. She has also held strategic positions within the crypto industry across Latin America. In her most recent role as Manager of  Education, Culture, and Productivity at Colsubsidio, she spearheaded the development of talent critical to the digital transformation and growth of companies in various regions of Colombia.

In her new role, Rodríguez Kattah will focus on enhancing Bitso’s leadership within the crypto ecosystem for users and strengthening the Bitso Business division, which offers international transfer and payment services for companies, both with and without a local presence. Additionally, drawing on her extensive public sector experience, she will advocate for the regulation of crypto platforms in  Colombia, capitalizing on the sector’s rapid growth and helping to consolidate the crypto-asset market among Colombian individuals and businesses.