The bank said that may offer individual loans of up to 50 times the monthly minimum salary, which is almost $14,000 USD at today’s exchange rate, for a term of up to 10 years. Repayment grace periods of up to two years may also be available on a case-to-case basis, with subsidized interest rates that will not exceed 4% for the recipient.

The Bogotá-based bank will continue lending under this program until the end of the year or until exhausting the allocated fund of $1.1 million USD (3.2 billion pesos).

The initiative has been kicked off in partnership with the governmental Victims Unit, which is subsidizing 2.17% of the loan interest rate (which will not exceed 6.17%) through an investment of around $150,000 USD (400 million pesos).

Anyone who is deemed eligible by the Victim’s Unit, which maintains a registry of nearly seven million qualified individuals, can apply for a business loan. While various use cases will be considered, Bancóldex specifically named the following categories as likely purposes for the funds: working capital, liabilities, modernization, and replacement of damaged vehicles not covered by insurance.

The bank also noted that it will approve loans for companies operating both domestically and those that look more toward the export market. All sectors are eligible except for agriculture, stated Bancóldex.

Applications can be made through various banks across Colombia, with Bancóldex serving as the verifying party. Full requirements for applicants are detailed in “Circular 009,” a provision signed by bank head Mario Suárez Melo.

Photo: Luis Fernando Castro, the outgoing head of Bancóldex, spoke recently in Bogotá about the development bank’s new green bond initiative. (Credit: Jared Wade)

The switch, which will formally take place on September 4, marks the first leadership change for the Bancóldex in nearly four years. The Bogotá-based bank, in a statement, said that Suárez Melo will look to build on the progress made with Castro at the helm, particularly in regards to the specialty instruments that Bancóldex has begun to introduce in recent years.

This month, for example, the organization introduced a series of “green” bonds that will help fund sustainable development in the country. The initiative was launched with support of the Bolsa de Valores de Colombia (the national stock exchange), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of Switzerland.

Suárez Melo, a lawyer by trade, has previously served in the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce and as the Colombian ambassador to Venezuela. He also was the head of Del Rosario University in the Colombian capital.