Colombia + Competitiva, Phase II

In the last decades, Colombia achieved sustained economic growth, leading to improved living conditions of the population, albeit very unevenly throughout the country. This has come mainly from commodity exports and the momentum has slowed down in recent years. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for addressing structural problems, diversifying the economy and creating sustainable and inclusive growth to benefit the population at large.

The overall objective of the programme is to foster green and inclusive growth by supporting key reforms related to competitiveness, such business environment, competition policy, entrepreneurship, skills development, innovation and circular economy. It provides support for sustainable value chains (specialty cocoa, sustainable tourism, natural ingredients and coffee) and addresses sectoral topics (access to finance, climate change, sustainable construction and others). The programme therefore contributes to providing jobs and income opportunities through compliance with sustainability standards and by fostering international market access. The deployment of Swiss expertise through a Swiss Expert Network supports the creation of dedicated partnerships between Colombian and Swiss institutions in the supported reform areas.

1. Public policies and reforms are implemented to promote competitiveness, innovation and skills development at national and sub-national levels

2. Increased competitiveness leads to exports and jobs in supported sustainable value chains

3. Solutions to cross-cutting challenges for specific sustainable value chains through policy dialogue between government, private sector and academia

Expected results:  

1. Implemented policies or projects for competitiveness, innovation and skills development

2. Strengthened cooperation between Swiss and Colombian institutions in the fields of innovation, competitiveness, entrepreneurship and skills development

3. Implemented Policies or projects for competitiveness, innovation and skills development at the sub-national level,

4. Supported sustainable value chain projects (cocoa, coffee, tourism, natural ingredients, construction ) to improve competitiveness and sustainability

5. Established trade linkages between Colombian producers and Swiss buyers

6. Solutions to regulatory barriers, access to financing, climate change mitigation or adaptation, and skills development challenges have been implemented

7. An effective and regular coordination mechanism has been set up and projects have been supported in the sustainable production sector

8. Effective support in climate change adaptation and mitigation practices per value chain

Results from previous phases:  

Phase I successfully strengthened Colombia’s National System for Competitiveness and Innovation and supported the implementation of innovative public policies for business environment reforms and productive development. The Programme also contributed to increased competitiveness and higher added value in four value chains at sub-national level: specialty cocoa, sustainable tourism, sustainable construction, and natural ingredients for cosmetics. Furthermore, it contributed to addressing cross-cutting, sector specific bottlenecks in the four value chains (e.g. Support to the elaboration of the national cadmium strategy). An independent evaluation provided a very positive assessment of the programme and recommended its continuation.