The Mayor’s Office of Bogotá, headed by Mayor Claudia López, through the District Secretariat for Economic Development and Ágata, the Data Analytics Agency of Bogotá, created the platform “Crédito Peso a Peso”, that seeks to contribute to financial inclusion in the capital, in order to combat the so-called ‘drop by drop’.
(The ‘drop by drop’ is a source of financing for 14% of micro-businesses).
“This initiative seeks to connect small business owners, who have not been able to access the formal financial sector, with financial allies such as Cívico or Davivienda, to offer them safe, legal, fast loans and, in general, more in line with the needs of clients. ”said Alfredo Bateman, Secretary of Economic Development.
For his part, Manuel Riaño, general manager of Ágata, pointed out that “The novelty of the platform is that it uses the data that has been collected from people from the different institutions that make up the Mayor’s Office and, with the proper authorization for the use of this information, they are transformed into alternative risk ratings that are at your discretion. times used by allies to define if it is viable to lend to these people. From the payments of these credits, using artificial intelligence, we will iterate the models that define the qualifications to be increasingly precise and inclusive”.
Those interested in obtaining a loan must apply through the website https://bogota.gov.co/creditopesoapeso/so that your data is analyzed by Ágata and financial allies (banks and fintech supervised by the Financial Superintendence of Colombia).
People with favorable ratings will be notified about the products at which will be able to access with average amounts of $1,800,000 pesos, and disbursements from $500,000 to $5,500,000 million pesos, with much easier and more agile disbursement processes than conventional ones.
(Bad credit portfolio low due to good payment habits).
The requirements to access a Peso to Peso Credit are: to reside in Bogotá, to have a valid identity document; if you are a foreigner, be legalized in Colombia; be between 18 and 70 years old; be the owner of a business with an age of at least 12 months; have your own contact email and telephone number; have a minimum monthly income of one (1) SMMLV; have at least two (2) invoices recently paid to suppliers and a commercial, family or personal reference.
Bateman specified that “This strategy opens the doors of the formal financial system to those merchants who have traditionally been excluded and provides access to formal resources for the reactivation or growth of their businesses; it facilitates the procedures for requesting, disbursing and paying credits (weekly, fortnightly or monthly installments) and improves and strengthens the credit histories of merchants, to later access new credits”.
A contribution from i-Team, the Bogota innovation team
This platform arises from a study carried out by the i-Team (Bogotá innovation team made up of Ágata, the ICT High Council, iBO and Connect Bogotá Region), together with experts, representatives of financial entities (banks and fintech) and students from the Universidad de los Andes.
In November 2021, Bogotá was selected as one of the most innovative cities and received a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, part of which went towards this research.
The study took into account more than 208 inquiries to 113 street vendors in San Victorino and 95 workers in automotive repair and maintenance workshops; more than 10 interviews with leaders of financial institutions and six workshops with different actors of the ecosystem that involves the ‘drop by drop’.
(The microcredit raised 30% participation of companies in the field).
Riano stressed that “The investigation concluded that the three main causes that explain the limited access of small business owners to formal credit, which makes them a population susceptible to taking loans from moneylenders or “drop by drop” moneylenders, happens because the products of the financial sector they do not meet the needs of customers (lots of paperwork, monthly charges, etc.); because the financial sector has a higher perception of customer risk than actually exists; and by the unfortunate bad financial habits of some small business owners.”
Bateman complemented, who “This construction would not be possible without the willingness and genuine interest of the financial sector to learn about and co-create credit products that make it possible to resolve a gap in the latent market between supply and demand.”
Finally, it is important to clarify that this initiative is not a subsidy granted by the district administration, but rather a facilitator or bridge to serve a specific population of citizens and financial entities. It is important to specify that it is not aimed at medium or large companies.
To find out all the information related to this program and to apply, citizens can access https://bogota.gov.co/creditopesoapeso/
