Green Climate Fund Approves Bancóldex Accreditation to Boost Fight Against Climate Change 

- This accreditation will allow Bancóldex to access concessional resources to finance business projects to mitigate and adapt to climate change.   

- It is an acknowledgement to Bancóldex for its compliance with the highest international financial, environmental, social and governance standards. 

- The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to support the efforts of developing countries to address the challenge of climate change. 

Bogotá, March 12, 2024 - In order to strengthen the fight against the climate crisis, Bancóldex, the Colombian business development bank, has been accredited to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the world's largest climate fund. 

Thus, Bancóldex becomes one of GCF's key allies in meeting Colombia's climate change mitigation and adaptation goals, which include a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, among others. 

In addition, this approval will strengthen the bank's environmental, social and gender-based capacities, facilitating the channeling of resources and the design of new financial and non-financial solutions for companies, particularly MSMEs, thanks to the access to concessional financial resources and technical assistance. 

So, Bancóldex will promote the structuring of projects, between 50 and 250 million dollars, that are aimed at adapting to and mitigating climate change. 

"This certification demonstrates our commitment to sustainable development and the fight against climate change in Colombia. To this end, the Bank already has experience in designing credit lines that have allowed more than 10,000 companies to finance projects in energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate change adaptation measures in post-conflict areas and bioeconomy for more than $1.7 billion in the last 10 years," said Bancóldex president Javier Díaz Fajardo. 

The Deputy Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund, Henry González, indicated that "the Green Climate Fund is pleased to sign this agreement with Bancóldex. We look forward to forging a strong alliance with Bancóldex and thus supporting Colombia in achieving the goals of the NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) and national climate change plans. This alliance will allow the channeling of financial resources and the removal of barriers to investment, faced by companies and communities in urgent need of transformational support to respond to the climate crisis." 

In recent years, the GCF has played a fundamental role in supporting concrete initiatives in the fight against climate change, with resources committed for more than USD 12 billion in more than 220 projects located in the Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Eastern Europe regions. These projects focus on energy generation and access, livelihoods of people and communities, health and food security, transportation, among others, which makes it a key ally to move towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy in the country. 

About the Green Climate Fund (GCF): 

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), created at COP16 in 2010 to support the efforts of developing countries to address the challenge of climate change 

About Bancóldex: 

Bancóldex is the Colombian business development bank. It promotes sustainable development of companies and strengthens their competitiveness through financing, investment via capital funds and business support programs.