Forbes selects the companies most likely to make a mark this year.

U.S. mathematician Stephen Arthur Cook has been granted the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Information and Communication Technologies category for his important role in identifying what computers can and cannot solve efficiently. His work has had a dramatic impact on all fields where complex computations are crucial.

2015 was arguably the year of financial technology - digital ways of delivering financial services offering a faster, more convenient and more useful experience to customers by combining platforms, channels and technology. Terms such as Unicorn, Blockchain, APIs and Accelerators became part of everyday conversation, companies such as TransferWise in the UK and OnDeck in the US began to eat into mainstream markets such as remittances and lending and capital rushed to embrace the investment opportunity offered by start-ups attempting digital disruption of financial services. For example, the UK, according to figures from London and Partners, had attracted $554 million of fintech investment by September 2015, compared to $487 million for the whole of 2014.

A full-blown innovation ecosystem is blooming in Mexico, with startups popping everywhere on a daily basis, eager to put new technologies to work.

The Colombian Innovation Center group closes a year focused on creativity, entrepreneurship and technological development.

Entrepreneurship is a way of life. It involves a great deal of risk, adventure, and above all not following rules but creating your own.