UK Prosperity Fund for Colombia
This programme aims to support economic development, unlock economic opportunities and lead growth in Colombia’s regions.
Documents
Details
The UK Prosperity Fund for Colombia, worth £25.5 million over 5 years (2017 to 2022), is designed to support economic development, unlock economic opportunities and drive growth in the country’s post-conflict and conflict-affected regions. It will benefit more than 3 million people with a focus on women and girls in Colombia’s poorest regions.
The programme is expected to result in £1.99 billion of primary benefits to Colombia over 10 years. The potential secondary benefits to the UK of Prosperity Fund engagement, set within the context of a peaceful, prosperous Colombia, are £265 million by 2026.
The main objectives of the programme are to:
- achieve inclusive growth, poverty reduction and gender equality
- contribute to improving the commercial environment so that international business, including UK companies, can compete favourably in new markets
It will do this by targeting three sectors across post conflict and conflict-affected regions:
- institutional strengthening
- infrastructure
- agriculture
The 3 delivering partners of the programme will be:
- the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF)
- the Colombian Financial Institution for Development of the Regions (Findeter)
- Innovate UK – an agency of the UK’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Department (BEIS).
UK Prosperity Fund for Colombia
Why Colombia
Colombia is the fourth largest economy in Latin America, achieving 4 % average growth per year for the last decade. But Colombia remains the world’s seventh most unequal country, where one in three households is considered poor, with poverty predominant in secondary cities and rural areas in conflict affected regions. The benefits of peace in Colombia are projected to increase growth by up to 2 % per year and triple FDI within a decade.
Where in Colombia
- cities: Cartagena, Ibague, Manizales, Santa Marta, Valledupar and Villavicencio
- departments: Antioquia, Atlántico, Caldas, Cundinamarca, Magdalena, Meta, Santander and Valle del Cauca
Activities
Institutional Strengthening
- regional competitiveness: strengthen economic development in Colombia’s regions by improving their competitiveness. Build government capacity in up to 8 regions; deliver up to 24 specific competitiveness projects and train up to 200 officials in project development and management
- open, public procurement: more transparent, less corrupt public procurement in Colombia’s regions. Build government capacity to implement the International Open Procurement Standards in up to 8 regions and train up to 200 officials in open procurement and its effective implementation
- corporate governance reform of Colombia’s National Infrastructure Agency: improve ANI’s corporate governance standards in line with UK best practice. Design a new corporate governance model for ANI and pilot it over one year with an evaluation afterwards
Infrastructure
- urban development: strengthen SMART urban development in Colombia’s second tier cities. Build government capacity to implement existing urban master plans in up to 10 cities; deliver up to 30 urban development projects; and train up to 200 officials on SMART urban development
- rail development: support the rehabilitation of Colombia’s narrow-gauge rail network. Complete Colombia’s national Rail Master Plan and develop the regulatory framework; complete four rail feasibility studies and structure at least two of them for market
Agriculture
- agri-insurance: develop and roll out agri-insurance to Colombia’s smallholders and agricultural micro and small enterprises (MSEs). Create and implement a new IT-based Risk Information System, design and market test agri-insurance products and services in three pilot projects
- Agri-Tech Catalyst Challenge Fund: increase productivity and incomes for Colombia’s smallholders and agricultural MSEs through adoption of agri-innovations and technologies from the UK. Through a competitive bidding process fund up to 10 agri-innovation projects, which either pilot new innovations and technologies or develop the Colombian market for existing ones
Updates to this page
Last updated 30 September 2021 + show all updates
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New documents added: annual review 2020.
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Added annual review for 2019 to 2020.
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A new MoU has been added to the documents list.
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Memorandum of Understanding amendments added, alongside new Innovate UK one.
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Programme memorandums of understanding added
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First published.