Bogotá DC, April 7, 2021- The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, the Presidential Agency for International Cooperation and the Abu Dhabi – Fund for Development (ADFD) on behalf of the United Arab Emirates signed in Bogotá a USD 10 million agreement to support recovery and growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Colombia.
This is the second major project that is part of the Memorandum of Understanding between APC-Colombia and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development for a total of USD 45 millions.
The project contributes to the efforts of the Colombian government to reactivate this sector affected by the covid-19 pandemic.
This project seeks to support more than 1600 MSMEs, so that these companies can better connect with local and global value chains, and improve their access to export markets.
His Excellency Khalifa Al Qubaisi, Deputy Director General of ADFD, described the agreement as a new milestone in the strategic relations between the Fund and the Government of Colombia. “The project, like the others that we have financed in Colombia, will have a great impact on the economy, since it will promote innovation in the MSMEs sector, increase its productivity and export volumes, increase competitiveness, and generate hundreds of jobs. work thus boosting their contribution. to sustainable economic development “.
Likewise, he pointed out that the integral development of the sector will allow Colombia to achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda in SDG 8 and 9, which are related to “decent work and economic growth” and “industry, innovation and infrastructure”, respectively, as well as those of many other SDGs, directly and indirectly.
For the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, José Manuel Restrepo, this donation will further strengthen international cooperation relations between governments and work in a coordinated manner to strengthen the micro-business segment in the country, a line that constitutes a key element for industrial development.
For her part, Ángela Ospina de Nicholls, APC-Colombia director, indicated that “from APC-Colombia we have sought to speed up the execution of these non-reimbursable resources from the Abu Dhabi Development Fund, which are important in this process of safe reactivation of the country and in the fulfillment of a Colombia with equity. The Government of the United Arab Emirates and the Fund have been great allies of Colombia, especially in overcoming the effects caused by the covid-19 pandemic, and for this we appreciate their contribution to the government’s efforts ”.
The main memorandum of understanding has also supported the early childhood policy, with more than USD 10 million invested in the construction and provision of 37 child development centers (CDI) in 15 departments of the country that are benefiting almost 5,000 children.
The Abu Dhabi Development Fund (ADFD) is a leading national economic development aid entity owned by the Abu Dhabi government. Its objective is to help emerging countries by providing concessional loans to finance sustainable development projects. Since its inception in 1974, ADFD has set milestones in 97 developing countries.
Over the past 49 years, the Fund’s development projects and investments, valued at $ 28.3 trillion, have helped the international community achieve sustainable economic growth, as well as drive the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals ( SDG) of the United Nations.
The project that will benefit MSMEs will begin in the second quarter of 2021 and will be executed by Bancoldex and Colombia Productiva.
