Colombian organization and INSME member Propaìs is focused on strengthening SMEs through processes of technical assistance, and the construction of an investment plan that defines the needs of the productive unit to make the investment of financial resources that each of the beneficiaries will receive as capitalization. Through the “Microempresa Local” and “Impulso Local” projects, while working with the municipality of Bogotà, Propaìs’ efforts reperesent a best practice in the field with a particular focus on social inclusion.
Colombia
PROPAIS – Corporación para el Desarrollo de las Microempresas / PROPAIS – Corporation for SME´s Development in Colombia
District of Bogotá – District Government Secretariat and Local Development Funds
PARTNERSDistrict Government Secretariat and Local Development Funds and PROPAIS
START & END DATE OF THE PROJECT2022-2024
TARGET GROUPThis initiative prioritizes microenterprises made up of mothers who are heads of households, young people, people over 55 years of age, microenterprises oriented towards green conversion with environmentally sustainable practices, people with disabilities, victims of the armed conflict, cultural and creative microenterprises, and members of ethnic communities.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INITIATIVEAn initiative that seeks to contribute to the strengthening and consolidation of micro and small businesses affected by the crisis generated by COVID 19, through technical support, strengthening knowledge and go through capitalization processes provided by the program. It also aims for strengthen business skills through training modules for micro and small businesses in business and commercial subjects, supporting micro and small businesses in consolidation and formalization through monetary incentives for capitalization.
AIMS OF THE PROJECT - Call and selection of 6.000 beneficiaries
- Definition of population eligibility criteria
- Diagnosis and identification of business gaps
- Gathering of information for the construction of investment plans for each of the beneficiaries according to their individual conditions and business projections
- Categorization of each of the chosen microenterprises
- Design and implement adequate routes to strengthen production and strategic knowledge to increase soft skills in microentrepreneurs
METHODOLOGY- Strengthening with technical assistance and incentives for reactivation and consolidation for up to eight million pesos m/cte. ($8,000,000), approximately USD$2,000, which may only be used as working capital or support for formalization.
- Strengthening of business capacities through accompaniment and specialized technical assistance that will allow the development of multidisciplinary business skills, which is carried out in knowledge capsules for free consumption in a web environment, in addition to attention in physical spaces prepared to advise and accompany the micro-enterprises that participate in commercial meetings on aspects of business formalization.
- Entrepreneurs will co-create investment plans in dialogue with the diagnosis of gaps and needs that are carried out, receiving accompaniment and support in the identification of needs and projection of their businesses in the market. These gaps and needs will be addressed with the resources provided in capitalization by the program.
RESULTS ACHIEVED With the program, more than 6,880 micro-enterprises and productive units have been served to date that have received technical assistance, financial support, productive strengthening and commercial activation through the program, managing to overcome gaps and barriers that prevented their positioning in the local market. National and international.
It has managed to generate and sustain more than 19,980 jobs.
More than $95,100,000,000 Colombian pesos (approx. $23.7 million dollars) have been invested in the productive and commercial strengthening of these Productive Units, and in the capitalization of their investment plans to overcome the difficulties generated by the COVID 19 pandemic and other aspects that affected the economy of the city.
KEY CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING THE INITIATIVE AND SOLUTIONS USED TO MITIGATE THEM - To generate credibility and trust in citizens who recognize in the District Mayor’s Office and the government secretariat their work in guiding and leading the formulation and monitoring of policies aimed at strengthening democratic governance at the district and local level, by guaranteeing human and constitutional rights, peaceful coexistence, the exercise of citizenship, the promotion of peace and democratic culture, the use of public space, the promotion of organization and citizen participation and the coordination of political relations of the District Administration at its different levels.
- The challenges range from knowledge of the territory to guaranteeing that the dissemination and promotion of the programs were aimed at the entire community of both entrepreneurs and micro-entrepreneurs who were unaware of the District’s offer.
- Hard work had to be done in the diffusion through different means of communication available, to inform about the population targeting and the great effort to encourage participation and permanence in the programs, especially in the early stage of formation.
LESSONS LEARNEDIn relation to the call stage, it is necessary to have an additional 50% to 70% to the global goal by locality of registered participants, since many of them do not meet the requirements and supports indicated by the program, they do not really belong to the locality that they indicate or desert in the initial stage, which generates delays in the execution and demands additional efforts in reopening calls and reviewing new participants. Continuing about training and considering that microentrepreneurs and entrepreneurs have little time and many lack skills in the use of technology, it is essential that the training process last between two to three hours maximum and that the process can be monitored aware of the needs and conditions of the participants. Next, in line with the care of public resources, the issuance of the policy requires tighter times since this is a previous and mandatory step for the disbursement of capitalization resources and execution of the investment plan, which avoids delays and reprieves in the beneficiaries that have surpassed the previous stages of the programs.The need to facilitate training with real access to those beneficiaries of the program who did not have the skills to use digital tools, managing to have personalized support and in many cases managing physical locations in the participating localities to carry out face-to-face training and advice on the construction of investment plans, all within the time allotted for the execution cycle of the programs.
SUSTAINABILITY OF THE INITIATIVE AND POTENTIAL REPICABILITYConsidering that the Local Microenterprise Program and Local Impulse are in their third and second version respectively and the continuous learning and improvement that the District Administration and its operating allies have had have potentiated each of its stages from the planning, execution and liquidation of the process, the programs have a percentage of sustainability and replicability of 100%.
Although these programs were born in the face of the economic crisis generated by the pandemic, in their evolution the objective changed from reactivation to economic consolidation and their recognition and citizen satisfaction is high. Due to the above, the programs can be sustained and replicated in any territory where it is sought to reactivate and consolidate micro-entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs through efficient training and a great economic benefit that promotes, strengthens and potentiates the formal and informal, traditional and innovative economy.
Now, the District Administration is in the readiness stage of the fourth version (2023) of Local Microenterprise and the third of Local Impulse thanks to full compliance with the goals, the closure and effective settlements in past versions and the positive impact in the economy of local populations, where it is expected to contribute more than 16 billion pesos (more than USD$3.5 million) to strengthen and capitalize of 3,152 entrepreneurs, and 9 billion pesos (more than USD$2 million) to strengthen and capitalize 844 microentrepreneurs in the city of Bogotá.
