Seven impact enterprises - the finalists of the Growth Stage Impact Ventures (GSIV) programme - presented their solutions for promoting the SDGs in Colombia on Thursday, during the pitch event Discovering Enterprises Contributing to the SDGs in Colombia. The event was co-organized by UNDP Colombia and the UNDP Geneva Office, with the support of iNNpulsa, the entrepreneurship and innovation agency of Colombia’s National Government, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Tourism.
The aim of the event was to bring awareness among the local and international financial ecosystem of the impactful and investable enterprises aligned with the SDGs in Colombia.
The Growth Stage Impact Ventures (GSIV) programme is a highly competitive process launched by UNDP Colombia to identify enterprises with a proven impact, demonstrated product-market fit, and a revenue-generating self-sustainable model or that have already raised a round of investment. Over ninety ventures were nominated to participate in the selection process by third parties such as accelerators, impact funds, family offices, international organizations, and government. The selection process was informed by the seven identified priority sectors and the Investment Opportunity Areas (IOAs) of the Colombia SDG Investor Map, a country-level market intelligence tool that pinpoints investment themes and sectors that have a significant potential to advance the SDGs aligned to government policies and sustainable national development needs. The Colombia SDG Investor Map was co-created by UNDP Colombia and SDG Impact, part of UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub.
Through the integrated approach of using the Colombia SDG Investor Map and GSIV programme in Colombia, UNDP seeks to strengthen the national sustainable finance ecosystem bringing forward both the IOAs to advance the SDGs and impactful enterprises working in those areas ready for partnership and investment.
The event was introduced by the Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Colombia, Alejandro Pacheco, followed by the CEO of iNNpulsa Colombia, Francisco J. Noguera.
“At UNDP Colombia we are concerned about the great challenges that humanity faces in these times: poverty, inequality, climate change, deforestation, social exclusion and a long list of inequalities. From the perspective of the private sector, these issues become opportunities to generate impactful business models. That is why we congratulate the seven finalists, who aim to provide solutions to these challenges by improving the lives of more than 28,000 beneficiaries and at the same time represent 20 million dollars in investment opportunities” affirmed Alejandro Pacheco during the introductory remarks.
Francisco J. Noguera, President of iNNpulsa, said: "These are pioneering companies that are showing the way to address, through innovative business models and winning proposals in the market, many of the challenges and aspirations that we have as a country in the face of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals". The introduction was followed by the presentation of the Colombia SDG Investor Map by the UNDP SDG Investor Map Specialist for LATAM, David R. Sanchez.
The event consisted of three pitch sessions showcasing the finalists from the seven sectors of the Colombia SDG Investor Map: Agrapp (Financial Services), Symplifica (Tech & Communications), SunColo,bia (Renewables and Alternative Energy), Awake (Services & Education), Mueblea (Infrastructure), Paramo Snacks (Food & Beverage), and Bive (Health Care). Each session was followed by comments from impact investors, which brought their views on the impact investment ecosystem in Colombia, as well as their comments on the pitches of the ventures.
The Director of UNDP Geneva, Agi Veres made the concluding remarks, launching a call to action to the local and international ecosystem “We recognize the urgency of aligning ourselves to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. That is why at UNDP it is essential to create partnerships across the globe to strengthen financing strategies for the 2030 Agenda and provide guidance for sound decision making. Today we especially congratulate these companies that represent wonderful examples of profitable business models, with high impact and aligned with the country's development priorities”.
Learn more about the seven selected enterprises here (in Spanish).
