The third Social Impact Bond (SIB) focused on employment in Colombia has been launched by Prosperidad Social, the Innovation Lab of the Inter-American Development Bank (BID Lab), the Embassy of Switzerland in Colombia – Economic Cooperation and Development (SECO), and the Family Compensation Fund of Antioquia (Comfama). This bond, named CREO (Crecemos con Empleo y Oportunidades), aims to address the challenges faced by individuals in poverty and vulnerability during the social and economic crisis caused by the pandemic. It is the first bond implemented through LOGRA, the National Results-Based Payment Fund.
The investment for CREO totals 1.357 billion pesos, with the goal of developing innovative strategies to support over 1,500 vulnerable individuals. The objectives include achieving job placement for 346 people and ensuring a minimum job retention period of three months. Several new strategies will be implemented under this SIB, including assisted digital channels to improve the labor connection model, simulation of workplace situations to enhance recruitment processes, digital skills training, specialized psychosocial support, and the implementation of job recommendation and connection tools.
Colombia is further solidifying its position as a pioneer in the development of payment-by-results mechanisms with CREO. The use of SIBs in Colombia has already contributed to innovative solutions for addressing formal employment challenges for vulnerable populations, generating new evidence and knowledge for public policy, and strengthening public-private partnerships. Ignacio Corlazzoli, BID’s representative in Colombia, emphasized the power of payment-by-results innovation as a tool.
This achievement is the result of collaboration between Prosperidad Social, BID Lab, SECO, and the Fundación Corona. The Social Impact Bonds program in Colombia, known as SIBs.CO, has successfully implemented and evaluated two previous Social Impact Bonds, and the country’s first National Results-Based Payment Fund in Latin America, LOGRA, has been launched. Yvonne Baumann, Ambassador of Switzerland to Colombia, expressed Switzerland’s support for Colombia’s pioneering role, as the initiative aligns with important aspects such as promoting public-private collaboration, fostering innovation in public policy, and integrating vulnerable individuals into the formal economy.
The LOGRA fund, established in 2020, aims to generate learnings that improve the effectiveness of public policies and positively impact the lives of the most vulnerable population. It serves as an innovative instrument for financing, designing, implementing, and evaluating social projects based on results-based payment schemes. The fund has an investment of 17.56 billion pesos, with Prosperidad Social contributing 11.71 billion pesos and BID-SECO contributing 5.85 billion pesos.
For more information about the call for applications and pre-registration, please click here.
For information about the call for applications and pre-registration, click here