Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2026: Colombia
Table of contents
SMEs faced a complex environment marked by national and international uncertainty. Although there was a slight recovery towards the end of the year 2024, growth remained below its potential. Inflation in July 2025 fell to 5%, and investment stopped declining, but economic volatility remained high (Banco de la República, 2025).
In this context, SMEs play a vital role in Colombia’s economic recovery and sustainable development. Their involvement is key to the reindustrialisation strategy, particularly in sectors such as agribusiness, tourism, light manufacturing, and the circular economy.
Statistics support this role, as SMEs are the key economic driver in Colombia, currently accounting for 99.5% of all formal businesses, generating 79% of employment, and contributing approximately 40% of the annual GDP (Confecámaras, 2025).
In 2024, a total of 339,412 new businesses were registered, of which 98.9% were microenterprises, 0.16% were small enterprises, and 0.04% were medium-sized. Additionally, 45% of these new business units created at least one job (Confecámaras, 2025).
The results of the Business Opinion Survey conducted by Fedesarrollo and released in December 2024 showed an increase in business confidence, reaching 20.6% compared to 17.6% in November, its highest level since July 2023 (21.7%). This rise is mainly due to greater optimism regarding the current economic situation (Fedesarrollo, 2025).
However, a high level of business informality persists in Colombia. According to a recent study by the Banco de la República (Tobar Cruz & Ruiz Martínez, 2025), between 2019 and 2022, 77% of microbusinesses operated informally. This is closely linked to credit access: only 15.3% of microenterprises had access to credit, compared to 74.8% of medium-sized enterprises (Banca de las Oportunidades; Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, 2025).
Access to financing is essential for SME enterprises in Colombia, as it enables them to obtain the resources needed to invest in technology, expand production capacity, innovate, and enhance competitiveness. It also facilitates formalisation, promotes financial inclusion, and reduces social and regional inequalities, particularly in vulnerable areas or among traditionally excluded populations such as women entrepreneurs and rural communities.
Nonetheless, according to the 2022–2023 SME Survey by the National Association of Financial Institutions ANIF1 2022- 2023 (2024), gaps in access to the financial system still persist, especially in credit. The survey reports that 40% of companies did not apply for a loan. Among micro and small enterprises, this figure averages 28%.
In 2023, the National Development Plan (PND) 2022–2026 titled "Colombia: World Power for Life" was approved by the new National Government. The plan includes financial inclusion as a fundamental pillar for the country’s development, within the transformation axis known as “Human Security and Social Justice.” One of its main objectives is to ensure access to financial services for everyone, with a special focus on productive units within the popular economy2 and the most vulnerable groups. This plan serves as the main roadmap for legislative initiatives aimed at improving financing conditions for MSMEs developed during this period. This includes Instruments for Financial and Credit Inclusion of the Popular Economy, an Open Data Scheme for Financial Inclusion and Interoperability in Immediate Low-Value Payment Systems.
In 2024, the performance of the Colombian economy was deeply influenced by a complex macroeconomic and financial environment. Factors such as inflation, contractionary monetary policy, political instability, and a challenging fiscal context shaped a pattern of moderate economic growth. Despite some progress towards stabilisation, signs of recovery remain below the country’s long-term potential.
Throughout 2024, inflation moderated further to 5.2% continuing the trend of 2023 (9.28%), nonetheless persistent risks persist could reverse this trend. In parallel, the Central Bank (Banco de la República) maintained a restrictive monetary policy, reflecting caution in the face of both domestic and international conditions. This adjustment occurred alongside a partial strengthening of some external indicators, such as the reduction of the current account deficit in the balance of payments.
Economic growth in 2024 stood at 1.7%, below the historical trend, reflecting structural weaknesses. Growth was driven mainly by sectors such as agriculture, entertainment, and certain government services, while key industries such as manufacturing and mining experienced contractions, limiting a more robust expansion.
In the labour market, there were improvements in employment and a reduction in the unemployment rate, despite lower labour participation, standing at 9.7% at the end of the year. This result is explained by the fact that new employment was mainly concentrated on the non-salaried3 and informal segment. This segment grew by 5.1%, reaching 12.5 million employed people, while salaried employment4 only grew 1.6%. This imbalance is explained by the fact that the most dynamic sectors (agriculture and services) have high informality.
The behaviour of the labour supply measured through the Global Participation Rate (TGP), which measures the proportion of the active population in the labour market, remained stable at 66% in the 23 main cities, while in other capitals and rural areas it fell to about 62%. This moderation in the labour supply, combined with employment growth, helped to reduce the unemployment rate. These labour advances brought some social stability, although quality employment remains a concern.
On the fiscal side, the 2025 Financial Plan reported a deterioration in public finances: the General Government deficit reached 4.8% of GDP, with notable increases in imbalances within the Central National Government and the social security system.
Finally, in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI), the Central Bank reported that in 2024, the country received a total of USD 14.234 billion. Although this represented a decrease of USD 2.559 billion compared to 2023, the last quarter showed signs of recovery, with an increase of USD 895 million compared to the same period the previous year. The main recipient sectors of this investment were financial and business services, mining, oil, and manufacturing, suggesting a reorientation towards strategic sectors of the national economy (Banco de la República, 2025).
SMEs play an essential role in the country’s economic recovery and sustainable development. Their participation is key to the reindustrialisation strategy, particularly in sectors such as agribusiness, tourism, light manufacturing, and the circular economy. They also serve as drivers of local value chains, promoting productive decentralisation and linking up with regional producers, suppliers, and consumers, while connecting with the popular economy and community-based entrepreneurship. Strengthening their capacity for adaptation and innovation will be crucial for building more equitable and resilient growth.
According to the records of the chambers of commerce in 2024 (Confecámaras, 2024), The formal business structure of Colombia is made up of 91.7% microenterprises, 6.3% small enterprises, 1.6% medium-sized enterprises, and only 0.4% large enterprises. Between January and December, 297 475 productive units were created, representing a 2.7% decrease compared to 2023.
Note:
1: Since the issuance of Decree 957 of 2019, the classification of company size is based on the economic sector and the volume of sales measured in Tax Value Units (TVU). The value of the TVU is determined each year by Colombia’s tax authority – DIAN.
2: TVU 2024 = COP 47.065
In the analysis of credit access by company size according to the Credit Situation Report in Colombia at the end of 2024 (Banco de la República, 2025), a general decline in new lending was observed from banks during the period. This affected all firms, with a more pronounced drop among small enterprises. In contrast, Commercial Finance Companies (CFCs) reported an increase in credit access for most companies, except for medium-sized ones. Meanwhile, cooperatives showed improved access for microenterprises, while access decreased for the other business sizes.
In the microcredit market, by the end of 2024, the perception of willingness to grant microloans showed favourable trends across economic sectors, with the exception of activities related to construction and communications. Meanwhile, the demand for access to new microloans was predominantly rated negatively across all economic sectors.
On the other hand, according to the 2024 Financial Inclusion Report (Banca de las Oportunidades; Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, 2025), the current credit access rate for businesses stood at 26.7% in 2024, representing an increase compared to 2023. However, this figure still falls short of the levels observed before the pandemic, when it stood at 30.1%.
When disaggregated by company size, there is clear evidence of significant inequality in access to credit. In 2024, 74.8% of medium-sized enterprises obtained financing, reflecting a slight decrease of 0.2 percentage points compared to 2023. For small enterprises, access in 2024 stood at 59.5%, representing a drop of 1.3 percentage points compared to 2023. In the case of microenterprises, although there was a slight increase of 0.5 points, the indicator only reached 15.3%. This distribution reveals a gap of 66.8 percentage points between medium-sized and microenterprises, confirming that access to credit tends to decrease as the size of the enterprise decreases.
The analysis by business age confirms the trend that access to credit increases with enterprise age. In 2024, consolidated companies (more than 15 years of operation) reached a credit access rate of 54%, an increase of 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous year, while mature companies (between 10 and 14 years) maintained a rate of 29.8%. In contrast, young companies (between 5 and 9 years in operation) reported an access rate of 14.8%, a decrease of 0.5 points, and nascent companies (less 4 years in operation) reported an access rate of 3,2% showed a decline of 0.7 percentage points. These results highlight the greater barriers faced by early-stage firms in accessing formal financing.
Regarding the requirement of collateral or guarantees for credit, the National Guarantee Fund reported that in 2024, COP 15.46 trillion in loans were supported by a total of 458 838 guarantees, representing a 30.5% increase compared to the previous year. Additionally, 1.2 million guaranteed loans were recorded, approximately 90% of which were concentrated in microenterprises (Fondo Nacional de Garantías, 2025).
Access to credit is restricted by various factors that especially affect microenterprises. One of the most significant is high interest rates, which substantially increase the cost of financing and reduce repayment capacity. In addition, in many cases, the approved loan amounts are insufficient or lower than requested, limiting the effectiveness of credit as a tool for growth. High costs related to commissions and other financial charges also increase the economic burden on applicants.
Lengthy processes and the complexity of disbursement procedures constitute another major barrier, particularly for smaller productive units that require timely liquidity. Moreover, strict credit approval requirements, such as the need for collateral or a strong credit history, exclude a wide range of potential beneficiaries. In this context, many individuals turn to informal financing mechanisms, which can perpetuate cycles of debt and vulnerability. Collectively, these factors create an unfavorable environment that hinders access to formal financial resources and limits the consolidation, expansion, and sustainability of emerging businesses and enterprises.
In an effort to address these unfavorable factors and contribute to boosting the country’s economic recovery, the National Planning Department5 together with representatives of the Bicentenario Group6 (Bancóldex, Findeter, Finagro, National Guarantee Fund7, National Savings Fund8, the Ministries of Finance, Trade, Agriculture, and Housing, the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, companies, and associations from the solidarity sector, signed the “Pact for the Democratisation of Solidarity Credit” in October 2024.
The objective of the Pact is to promote access to associative and productive credit to underserved population segments and in regions of the country where funds, microfinance institutions, and cooperatives are present, so that it can contribute more actively to economic recovery by strongly supporting the productive units of the popular economy. Additionally, this pact removes barriers for the solidarity sector in order to continue combating harmful practices such as “gota a gota” (loan sharking) (Departamento Nacional de Planeación, 2024).
This initiative has recorded credit disbursements of COP 101.7 trillion as of April 2025, equivalent to 15.1 million approved and disbursed loans, primarily concentrated in the sectors of manufacturing and energy transformation, housing and infrastructure, agriculture, and tourism (Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, 2025).
Currently, the financial inclusion ecosystem offers instruments and financing mechanisms that respond to different stages and needs of businesses. In the discovery phase, the government provides subsidies, awards, and seed capital funds through the Fondo Emprender. For businesses in the growth stage, the public offering of financing instruments includes resources from Bancóldex–Capital Fund (FoF), Innpulsa’s Capital Lab, the Fondo Mujer Libre y Productiva, and the Fondo Emprender. Additionally, for companies at all stages of growth, Bancóldex offers rediscount credit lines, and the National Guarantee Fund (FNG) provides credit guarantees to support them.
Moreover, there are alternative instruments from both traditional and non-traditional financial intermediaries that are offering business liquidity solutions through technologies that are revolutionising and reshaping SME financing such as factoring and confirming (reverse factoring)9,which have gained significant traction in recent years in response to the implementation of the Electronic Invoice System by the National Tax and Customs Directorate10.
The Fondo Emprender of the National Learning Service11 promotes business creation and job generation in Colombia through forgivable and repayable seed capital. It aims to finance innovative, sustainable, and high-impact ideas through national and regional public calls open to all populations across the country. Through this initiative, nearly 33 000 businesses have been strengthened and more than 11 000 enterprises have been financed since 2011 to date (SENA, 2024).
Bancóldex Capital Fondo de Fondos I includes various compartments, each focusing on investing in a specific type of fund, including but not limited to: Private Equity Funds, Venture Capital Funds, and Private Credit Funds. The capital-raising process carried out in 2018 led to the launch of the Fund of Funds in 2019, initially with the Capital para Emprender compartment. This compartment focuses on investing in Colombian and regional venture capital funds that support high-impact, scalable ventures across the commerce, industry, tourism, services, and creative industries sectors. As of the end of 2024, this compartment had anchor investments from Bancóldex totaling COP 185.447 billion. (Bancóldex, 2025).
Bancóldex Capital Fondo de Fondos II is currently under structuring, with the objective of investing in:
(i) Seed Capital Funds: Investment funds that provide financing (through debt or equity) to companies or projects in the early stage of validating a product, service, or business plan.
(ii) Venture Capital Funds: Investment funds that finance companies that have already gone through the initial pre-operational and/or operational phases; they have a developed and tested product and have achieved initial revenues.
(iii) Private Equity Funds: Investment funds that invest (through debt or equity) in established companies requiring resources primarily for consolidation and/or expansion.
(iv) Private Credit Funds: Investment funds that will carry out credit operations (senior, subordinated, principal, mezzanine, secured or unsecured, among others) in favour of established companies. The Fund will seek to invest in capital funds that target companies or projects in the commerce, industry, and tourism sectors.
Venture capital plays a strategic role in Colombia’s financing ecosystem, as it provides not only financial resources but also technical support, networking opportunities, and strategic guidance, enhancing the scalability of startups and high-potential projects. In a context like Colombia’s, venture capital serves as a key alternative to diversify sources of investment, stimulate innovation, and promote the development of dynamic sectors such as technology, biotechnology, fintech, and the creative economy.
According to data from the Latin American Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (2025), venture capital mobilised in the country reached USD 513 million in 2024, representing a 36.44% increase compared to USD 376 million in 2023. The fintech sector remains the driving force of Colombia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, attracting 73.9% of total investments.
Factoring and confirming are financial tools that allow credit-issued invoices to be converted into immediate liquidity, improving cash flow and strengthening the financial sustainability of businesses. A key component in advancing these mechanisms has been the mandatory implementation of electronic invoicing throughout the country. Once recognised as negotiable instruments, these invoices represent either a collection right or a payment obligation that can be transferred to third parties. In this context, the RADIAN platform, administered by DIAN, has played a fundamental role by enabling the registration, traceability, and consultation of these invoices, thus facilitating negotiation operations and access to financing.
Between 2023 and 2024, there was a 51% increase in the number of paying companies using these services, and a 9% increase in the number of suppliers that obtained financing through these mechanisms (Colombia Fintech, 2025). As of April 2025, 41 608 electronic invoicers had been enabled within the RADIAN system. Between 2021 and 2024, a total of 4.3 million invoices were endorsed, representing a total value of COP 92.68 trillion, which reflects the growing and sustained adoption of this model (Banca de las Oportunidades; Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, 2025).
According to Factors Chain International (FCI), Colombia ranks fourth in Latin America in factoring transaction volume, after Chile, Peru, and Mexico. Activity in this sector has grown 44% since 2022 and currently accounts for around 3% of the national GDP, with projections to reach 7% by 2027 (La Nota Económica, 2025).
In 2023, the National Development Plan (PND) 2022–2026 titled "Colombia: World Power for Life" was approved by the new National Government. The plan includes financial inclusion as a fundamental pillar for the country’s development, within the transformation axis known as “Human Security and Social Justice.” One of its main objectives is to ensure access to financial services for everyone, with a special focus on productive units within the popular economy13 and the most vulnerable groups. This plan serves as the main roadmap under which legislative initiatives aimed at improving financing conditions for MSMEs have been developed during this period.
Within the law that establishes the current Government's National Development Plan (Función Pública, 2025), various articles were introduced to enable, in a flexible and open manner, the subsequent implementation of decisive actions to update, transform, and improve financial inclusion frameworks in the country. Notable among these are:
1. Article 88. Instruments for Financial and Credit Inclusion of the Popular Economy. The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, in co-ordination with other State entities, shall promote the development of instruments and programmes to foster the financial and credit inclusion of the Popular Economy.
2. Article 89. Open Data Scheme for Financial Inclusion. State entities that are part of the branches of public power, as well as all legal entities of a private nature, must provide access to and supply all information that may facilitate access to financial products and services.
3. Article 94. Right to Financial Portability. Financial consumers shall have the right to request the transfer of their financial products from one institution supervised by the Financial Superintendence of Colombia to another, along with all general and transactional information associated with those products.
4. Article 104. Interoperability in Immediate Low-Value Payment Systems. Low-value payment systems that provide services related to payment orders and/or immediate fund transfers must interoperate with each other, in accordance with regulations issued for this purpose by the Board of Directors of the Banco de la República.
In response to Article 104 of Law 2294, this resolution regulates interoperability in low-value payment systems that provide services related to payment orders and/or immediate fund transfers. It establishes the requirements and conditions that must be met by administrating entities of immediate low-value payment systems, as well as the rules governing Payment Orders and/or Immediate Fund Transfers (Banco de la República, 2023).
In response to Article 88 of Law 2294, this decree establishes the programme "CREO, un crédito para conocernos" to promote access to formal financing for the Popular Economy. This programme is aimed at natural persons, legal entities, or groups of individuals who meet the access conditions established in the decree (Ministerio de Hacienda y Crédito Público, 2025).
In response to Articles 89 and 94 of Law 2294, rules and standards have been established for the secure and transparent handling of personal data within the framework of open finance. The aim is to empower financial consumers and promote competition and innovation within the financial system (Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, 2024).
This circular aims to boost the capital market and stimulate the collective investment funds industry. To achieve this, it introduces new instructions for market deepening, including the expansion of the simplified client onboarding procedure for low-value investments in any type of security. It also seeks to facilitate the entry of new players into the capital market system (Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, 2024).
This new External Regulatory Circular presents changes related to the classification of transfers as either Inter or Intra based on the recipient; it clarifies that the registration of Payment Keys between individuals must be made solely by the client, except in specific cases allowed; and allows the assignment of alphanumeric Keys to active payment methods in certain phases of implementation. Additionally, transitional measures are defined, including the use of “Identifiers” as Keys in phases 4 and 5 of the process, and their use is also authorised for payments to merchants (Banco de la República, 2025).
In response to Article 88 of Law 2294, this decree seeks to promote efficiencies in the collaborative financing activity and allow individuals to obtain funding for their productive projects through these infrastructures, through modifications in its definition, modalities, the functions of the entities developing the activity, and the classification of productive projects, among others (Unidad de Regulación Financiera, 2024).
Source: See Table 3 Charts A, B, C, D and E: Bank of the Republic of Colombia – Financial Superintendence of Colombia. Chart F: Superintendence of Societies.
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← 1. Non-profit Economic Research Center dedicated to the study of economic and social policy issues.
← 2. According to Decree 2185 of 2023, "the Popular Economy refers to commercial occupations and trades (production, distribution, and marketing of goods and services) as well as non-commercial ones (domestic or community-based), carried out by small-scale economic units (individual, family-run, microbusinesses, or microenterprises) in any economic sector."
← 3. Non-salaried employee: are those employed with occupational positions of domestic employee, self-employed worker, employer, unpaid family worker and day labourer.
← 4. Salaried employee: are those employed with the occupational position of worker or employee in a private company, and of worker or employee in the government.
← 5. Think tank of the National Government that coordinates, articulates, and supports short-, medium-, and long-term planning for the country, and guides the public policy cycle and the prioritization of investment resources.
← 6. A mixed economy company with a special regime, affiliated with the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, whose objective is to offer products and services through 13 financial institutions.
← 7. Entity through which the National Government seeks to facilitate access to credit for self-employed workers, micro, small, medium, and large enterprises, as well as Colombian households, by providing loan guarantees.
← 8. State-owned industrial and commercial company of Colombia, whose objective is to facilitate access to housing through the financing of mortgage loans and the management of severance funds.
← 9. Confirming is a financial operation that provides liquidity to companies just like factoring, the difference between these lies in that part of the accounting is affected, factoring focuses on accounts receivable (customers), while confirming focuses on accounts payable (suppliers), managing and ensuring timely payment to suppliers.
← 10. Special administrative unit attached to the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia. Its main function is to ensure the fiscal security of the State and protect the national economic public order.
← 11. State-run vocational training institution of the Colombian government.
← 12. Development bank that promotes business growth and foreign trade in Colombia.
← 13. According to Decree 2185 of 2023, "the Popular Economy refers to commercial occupations and trades (production, distribution, and marketing of goods and services) as well as non-commercial ones (domestic or community-based), carried out by small-scale economic units (individual, family-run, microbusinesses, or microenterprises) in any economic sector."