Amid Global Pandemic, MIGA Helps Bring in International Financing to Support Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises in Colombia

WASHINGTON DC, July 16, 2020 – MIGA, a member of the World Bank Group, has issued a guarantee of US$385 million¹ for two years to JP Morgan Chase Bank, Banco Santander, BBVA and other investors, for loans being provided to Colombia’s Business Development Bank of Colombia (Bancóldex). The MIGA guarantee provides protection to the lenders from the risks of Non-Honoring of Financial Obligations by a State-Owned Enterprise (NHFO-SOE).

With this guarantee, Bancóldex will access international credit markets and provide financing for short-term loans through financial intermediaries (FI) to micro-, small- and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and corporates in key economic sectors such as manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, transportation, tourism, and communications. The FIs will provide working capital loans at below market rates with tenors of up to 36 months and amounts of up to US$750,000 for MSMEs and US$1.2 million for corporates.

It is estimated that around 67 percent of Colombia’s workforce—more than 15 million people—is employed in sectors heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, the Government of Colombia (GoC) asked MIGA to help mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 crisis by supporting their efforts to provide emergency liquidity to MSMEs through Bancóldex. It was agreed that MIGA’s NHFO-SOE guarantee would be the most effective instrument to fast-track support. By extending credit to commercial banks facing liquidity shortages, Bancóldex will help MSMEs avoid disruptions to their access to credit and financial stress resulting from the pandemic.

“MIGA’s support for Bancóldex will help strengthen the resilience of MSMEs against the global pandemic,” MIGA Executive Vice President Hiroshi Matano said. “This project is a part of our COVID-19 Fast Track Facility, and a strong demonstration of MIGA’s ability to mobilize international private capital to deliver results on the ground.”

“We are challenged by one of the biggest economic contraction that has ever affected Colombia’s business activity. Early discussions with MIGA helped us structure and develop this Facility so that this credit enhancement would achieve maximum development impact in Colombian enterprises,” Bancóldex’s CEO Javier Díaz said.

Bancóldex, in coordination with GoC, created the ‘Responde’ COVID-19 response programs, designed to provide working capital credit lines to support MSMEs facing liquidity constraints and difficulty accessing business materials. As of May 2020, Bancóldex had approved a total of US$302.7 million loans, of which US$214 million has been disbursed as part of the COVID-19 response programs. Their flagship ‘Colombia Responde’ program has supported a total of 3,400 companies, the majority of which are small and medium size enterprises.

Bancóldex is an autonomous majority state-owned bank, established in 1991 and owned by the GoC through the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism and the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit. It is mandated to foster the growth of enterprises of all sizes and sectors—especially MSMEs—as a mean to enhance national economic growth. exports and promote industrial development in Colombia. Bancóldex operates as a second-tier bank with rediscount credit operations, where its funds are lent to intermediary financial institutions, which in turn on-lend those funds to MSMEs and corporates.

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MIGA was created in 1988 as a member of the World Bank Group to promote foreign direct investment in emerging economies by helping mitigate the risks of restrictions on currency conversion and transfer, breach of contract by governments, expropriation, and war & civil disturbance; and offering credit enhancement to private investors and lenders.

Since its creation, MIGA has issued over $59 billion in guarantees across 118 developing countries.

The World Bank Group, one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, is taking broad, fast action to help developing countries strengthen their pandemic response. We are supporting public health interventions, working to ensure the flow of critical supplies and equipment, and helping the private sector continue to operate and sustain jobs. We will be deploying up to $160 billion in financial support over 15 months to help more than 100 countries protect the poor and vulnerable, support businesses, and bolster economic recovery.  This includes $50 billion of new IDA resources through grants and highly concessional loans.

Contacts

In Washington:  Vamsee Krishna Kanchi, (202) 458-9771,  vkanchi@worldbank.org

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¹ MIGA issued a guarantee of US$385 million, not US$400 million as indicated in an earlier version of this press release.