The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a 200 million loan to support productive financing and sustainable development for micro, small, and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) in Colombia, that will be channeled through Bancóldex (Colombia’s business development bank).

The program includes three components: i) improving microenterprises’ access to productive credit, ii) providing long-term loans for upgrading production and for digitalization, and iii) offering new lines of credit for investments in environmentally sustainable production. It will also focus on closing the financing gap for female entrepreneurs, as 50% of its first-time loan recipients will be microenterprises led or owned by women. Regarding its impact, it is expected that this investment will benefit over 13,000 businesses and cut 12,450 tons of CO2 emissions through more environmentally sustainable production.