MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Invest, Sura Investments Channeling $25m in Loans to SMEs, Mid-market Firms in Colombia

Colombia’s Sura Investments recently raised COP 100 billion (USD 25 million) for its Sura Private Debt Fund from IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group. The fund was launched in 2020 with an initial volume of COP 38 billion (USD 9.5 million). The goal is to provide local-currency funding on longer terms than are otherwise available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as mid-market companies in Colombia that are in need of support to increase their productivity and expand. Among Sura Investments’ strategies is to distribute loans to SMEs via an unidentified financial technology (fintech) firm. IDB Invest plans to support its relationship with Sura Investments with technical assistance relating to addressing climate risks and investing more in women.

Sura Investments, a subsidiary of Medellín-based Sura Asset Management, offers debt and equity investments in sectors such as real estate and infrastructure. It operates in the Americas as well as Luxembourg and reports a portfolio of USD 18 billion. Sura Asset Management has a portfolio of USD 140 billion.

The goal of IDB Invest is to “finance sustainable companies and projects to achieve financial results and maximize economic, social and environmental development” across Latin America and the Caribbean. The institution is owned by its 48 member countries and holds total assets of USD 19 billion as of December 2022.

In addition to IDB Invest, the IDB Group comprises IDB, which provides “financial and technical support for countries working to reduce poverty and inequality,” and IDB Lab, which tests models for facilitating growth that is inclusive of “vulnerable people affected by economic, social or environmental factors.” During 2022, IDB issued loans totaling USD 12.7 billion in sectors such as agricultural, trade and social services, and IDB Lab approved projects worth USD 96 million.

By Hawra Moochhala, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

IDB Invest press release
https://www.idbinvest.org/en/news-media/idb-invest-joins-forces-sura-investments-support-colombias-private-credit-market

Sura Investments homepage
https://www.surainvestments.com

Sura Asset Management homepage
https://www.sura-am.com

Sura Private Debt Fund webpage
https://sura-am.com/en/newsroom/sura-investment-management-has-launched-new-financing-mechanism-small-medium-and-large-scale-companies

IDB Invest homepage
https://idbinvest.org

IDB Invest Annual Report (2022)
https://www.idbinvest.org/en/publications/idb-invest-annual-report-2022

IDB Group homepage
https://www.iadb.org

IDB Annual Report (2022)
https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/viewer/Inter-American-Development-Bank-Annual-Report-2022-The-Year-in-Review.pdf

Previous MicroCapital article on IDB Invest
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-idb-invest-oikocredit-subscribing-to-20m-bond-from-cja-to-finance-msmes-in-ecuador-targeting-underrepresented-groups/

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