• SURA Asset Management, in partnership with its operating associate, Exponencial Confirming, is facilitating factoring as a way of providing Colombian SMEs with the liquidity and working capital they need in order to continue operating and overcoming the present situation.
• According to ACOPI (the Colombian Association of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), SMEs account for 96% of the national business system and 94% of new jobs.
• SURA Asset Management is currently supporting measures aimed at, among other things, preserving jobs and driving economic recovery, as part of its firm conviction of the need to build Possible Futures

In order to provide small and medium enterprises with working capital and liquidity so as to be able to continue operating in the midst of the current pandemic, as well as helping to drive the country's economic revival, SURA Asset Management has launched a new line of factoring, with a capital outlay of around COP 35 billion.

This shall allow companies to meet their obligations such as payroll and raw material payments, among others, by selling their invoices so as to obtain advance payments, either totally or partially, this at a minimum cost for the SMEs, that is to say much  lower than the rates traditionally charged by the local factoring market, and thereby be able to cover their current operating expense.

"At SURA Asset Management we believe that together we can construct possible futures and this is why we are taking on a role as key players in the country’s economic recovery, this amid the challenging conditions we are witnessing at the present time. We wish to help find responsible alternatives, which shall allow both individuals and organizations to cope with the present situation. In this case, we found a way of providing support to SMEs with this line of factoring, allowing small and medium enterprises to continue operating, these being one of the country’s prime economic engines," stated Ignacio Calle, CEO of SURA Asset Management.  

SURA Asset Management shall work together with Exponencial Confirming, a financial technology company with experience in providing factoring and confirming services along with an extensive knowledge of SMEs. This shall begin as a pilot project, and over the next few months, the Company shall be expanding its coverage to other beneficiary companies. With this line of factoring, SURA Asset Management expects to provide support, in its initial stage, to approximately 182 SMEs that are already clients of Exponencial Confirming. In the medium and long term, this initiative is projected to benefit approximately 1,600 SMEs.

 "We are pleased and proud of the trust that SURA Asset Management has placed in our work. At Exponencial Confirming we are committed to offering simple and efficient solutions for the human capital needs of SMEs, especially during difficult times like these that are affecting the country, with the number of SMEs having no liquidity now reaching 2,000. Thanks to the support and trust of SURA Asset Management, with this initiative we hope to help drive the economic recovery of all these companies", said María Camila Muñoz, CEO and founder of Exponencial Confirming.  

Through this means and the Fintech component of Exponencial Confirming, the cash and liquidity needs of client companies can be met in less than 12 hours by purchasing their invoices, thus making it far easier and more efficient than using the traditional factoring channel. This model carried minimal discount rates compared to the traditional factoring rates and other financial mechanisms such as loans. This initiative does not represent a line of business for SURA Asset Management. It is being launched specifically for the purpose of providing resources to all those SMEs that are requiring liquidity in order to meet their obligations and continue operating.

This initiative is part of a series of measures that SURA Asset Management has been developing during the present situation, these aimed at, among other things, preserving jobs and driving economic recovery, as well as providing the Latin American people with an opportunity to talk about and share their ideas of how to build Possible Futures, this as a way of overcoming the uncertainty and tacking the challenges of this new reality we are facing.