Rodrigo Peñailillo
CAF´s representative in Colombia
In 1968, more than 50 years ago, the governments of Colombia, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela and Ecuador met in Bogota to found CAF, at that time the Andean Development Corporation, today the development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. In these years, we have grown from six Andean countries to twenty countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and have financed more than $200 billion to bring water, electricity, housing, education, health, mobility and telecommunications to millions of Latin Americans.
Colombia is one of the countries with the greatest historical weight in the institution, and we want to boost this position even further in the future. To achieve this, we have prepared a new strategy to support the country, aligned with the National Development Plan (NDP) 2022-2026 "Colombia, World Power of Life" and based on rural development, a commitment to equity, sustainable productive transformation and institutional modernization, all with equity, gender, diversity, inclusion and climate action as cross-cutting themes.
We have a lot of work ahead of us. Despite the fact that in recent decades Colombia has made significant progress in some of the main socioeconomic indicators (for example, extreme poverty went from 19.8% in 2020 to 12.9% in 2022, and the economy grew by 3% on average until 2020), there are still lags in infrastructure, technology and innovation, as well as inequalities in income, education and access to basic services. For example, around 97% of Colombians have guaranteed access to drinking water, but in cities such as Quibdó coverage is only 8.2% (in Bogotá it is 99.6%).
Working together will be the key to success. The private sector is vital to build lasting strategies, and public sector participation is essential to guide development policies.
Rodrigo Peñailillo, CAF´s representantive in Colombia
In view of this situation, our proposal to support the country will implement a development agenda that will help overcome the middle-income trap, help it to jump on the bandwagon of the 4th Industrial Revolution and take full advantage of its competitive advantages in terms of the environment, agriculture and human talent.
Colombia has significant growth opportunities for a number of reasons. First, the combination of the size of its economy, its geographic location and its environmental potential. Second, the economy is resilient thanks to its financial strength and macroeconomic management, supported by policies to stimulate investment. And finally, the opportunities offered by the development of a system of cities to leverage the development of the territories through more and better infrastructure and the creation of new commercial circuits.
The Colombian countryside also plays an important role in the Government's plan as well as in CAF's strategy in Colombia, since it can consolidate itself as the engine of progress and leader of sustainable practices (such as those being developed in the coffee sector, for example). For this reason, we are ready to make this a sustainable and increasingly inclusive space. We want to promote a productive transformation that responds to the needs of the sectors and that, in line with the conservation objectives, relies on technology and knowledge to generate value.
Working together will be the key to success. The private sector is vital to build lasting strategies, and public sector participation is essential to guide development policies. For this reason, our strategy integrates joint work between the public and private sectors, academia and civil society, to guarantee diversity, equity and the inclusion of all good ideas. Only in this way will the country be able to develop its full potential, overcome its challenges and offer more and better opportunities to all its citizens.
These are just a few sketches of the path we are taking to strengthen our presence in Colombia and to build a greener, more sustainable, economically thriving, inclusive country that respects ethnic and racial communities. Colombia can count on CAF as an unconditional ally, especially through projects that improve the quality of life of all Colombians.
