Colombian loan guarantee organisation Fondo de Garantнas de Antioquia (FGA) has invited all the country's banks and chambers of commerce to use its web-based platform to handle loan applications from small enterprises, the government said in a statement.
The People Point platform receives real time data from chambers of commerce in each department and indicates how many loans have been requested, as well as the response from local banks.
Medellнn-based FGA developed the system with support from the Medellнn chamber of commerce and the trade and industry ministry. The Bogotб, Medellнn, eastern Antioquia and Cali chambers of commerce have used the system to award loans worth a total of pesos500bn pesos (US$212m) in 2004 and the FGA expects twice as much to go through the system this year.
“Through to December, we plan to offer over pesos 1tn in loans for small and micro companies,” FGA manager Felipe Rojas said.
