This is the public-private partnership that mobilizes 10.3 billion pesos to recover businesses affected by the earthquake in Cali

NewsThe earthquake occurred on August 10 and the hardships are not over yet. Photo: Jaiver Nieto ÁlvarezJOURNALIST30.09.2026 16:13 Updated: 30.09.2026 16:15 The Mayor's Office of Santiago de Cali, the Cali Chamber of Commerce and the WWB Colombia Foundation have consolidated a public-private alliance that will mobilize resources totaling $10.3 billion (pesos) to support the reopening and reactivation of businesses affected by the earthquake of August 10. The three entities will pool resources and capabilities in a joint strategy that, after identifying the needs of each business, will now direct the available support according to the level of impact on each company, in order to restore its productive activity. The mayor of Cali with the Minister of Housing at the apartment handover. Photo: Cali Mayor's OfficeThe initiative responds to the magnitude of the damage recorded in the city. According to the Unified Impact Dashboard, consolidated by the National Government, local entities and chambers of commerce of the affected departments, 7,210 companies in Cali reported impacts, of which 83.2% correspond to microenterprises. The earthquake caused pain to thousands of families in Cali. The first apartments for those affected. Photo: Cali Mayor's OfficeIn addition, according to the Business Impact Line, around 1,840 establishments remain closed and more than 18,600 jobs are affected or at risk. The economic losses reported to the Business Impact Line amount to more than 188.7 billion pesos, and among the main needs identified by business owners are in-kind capital, at 57.4%, and resources for working capital and inventories, at 41%. President Abelardo De La Espriella delivered aid to victims of the earthquake in Cali. Photo: Samir RojasAccording to the district Administration, this strategy combines diagnosis, accompaniment and follow-up, according to the level of impact and response capacity of each business; for this reason, the Mayor's Office enabled the Special Business Reactivation Line after the earthquake to directly deliver assets, machinery and supplies, with no freely disposable disbursements or indemnities. Joining effortsThe mayor of Cali, Alejandro Eder, highlighted the importance of joining public, business and social efforts to advance the economic recovery of the city. "We have shown that 'Cali Somos Todos' (We Are All Cali) is the way the people of Cali respond to adversity. In this alliance with the Cali Chamber of Commerce and the WWB Colombia Foundation, we have joined capabilities so that no merchant, microentrepreneur or informal worker is left alone in this crisis. We are not delivering welfare aid or freely disposable money; we are delivering machinery, tools, direct supplies and guaranteed financing so that businesses can open their doors again, keep selling, and we protect our people's jobs," he said. He stated that, with a joint investment of 10.3 billion pesos, the alliance seeks to support the reactivation of more than 1,200 companies out of the 7,210 affected in the city of Cali. He said the resources will be allocated, among other instruments, to the delivery of in-kind, non-reimbursable seed capital. The facilities of the La Luna hotel, after the earthquake. Photo: Carolina Bohórquez / EL TIEMPOThe support is organized into three levels corresponding to Basic Restoration, which grants up to 5 million pesos for the acquisition of essential tools, equipment and supplies; Operational Reactivation, which allocates more than 5 million and up to 10 million, mainly for minor machinery and specialized tools; and, finally, Intensive Recovery and Employment, which assigns up to 20 million for businesses with greater impacts and the capacity to protect or recover jobs. Within this same strategy, the Cali Chamber of Commerce will make available resources and technical capabilities to identify the needs of affected companies and define recovery routes adjusted to each case. "From the Cali Chamber of Commerce, significant resources have been allocated that we have prioritized on different fronts and that will be destined for affected companies in our jurisdiction, in addition to a team to carry out the diagnosis and business continuity plan, identifying the exact solution each one needs," said the executive president of the Cali Chamber of Commerce, María del Mar Palau. "Being part of this alliance reaffirms our commitment to the reactivation of the productive fabric, working in a coordinated manner between business owners and local and national entities," added the guild leader. In-kind capitalIn turn, the WWB Colombia Foundation will deliver in-kind capital to the prioritized businesses, according to their needs. This support will be complemented by an accompaniment process aimed at strengthening the management and continuity of each business. "We are joining this alliance with a comprehensive training model that contemplates being and doing, designed to strengthen the management of each business. In this way, we guarantee that entrepreneurs have the tools to make informed decisions, maximize resources and boost their ventures," said the president of the WWB Colombia Foundation, Daniela Konietzko. As for the joint accompaniment and follow-up, professionals from the Cali Secretariat of Economic Development, the Cali Chamber of Commerce and the WWB Colombia Foundation will make the first contact with business owners. Subsequently, the in situ visits to the registered businesses to verify the impacts and the required support will be carried out by the WWB Colombia Foundation. The information obtained will be integrated into a single registry that will make it possible to know what support each business has received, its value and the entity responsible for delivering it. "The single registry of economic impact makes it possible to have a single record for each productive unit. That means that when all the funds are activated, that record will allow the number of public and private reliefs required to be deployed and individualized. This will ensure that there will be no double payment in any way, because we will have mapped out what contribution they will receive, for how much and from which agency. This guarantees that there will be no duplication," explained the Secretary of Economic Development of Cali, Laura Loreto Arias. To determine who will be able to access the program, it was established that entrepreneurs, informal workers and mipymes (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises) of all sectors that were operating before August 10, 2026, that have reported their impact through the Business Impact Line and that can prove the damage caused by the earthquake may participate. The prioritization will take into account the severity of the impact, the closure of the establishment, the possibility of reactivating the business with the support received, the protection of direct jobs, participation in strategic supply chains and differential inclusion criteria. The allocation of support will be carried out through a Prioritization Matrix defined by the Cali Chamber of Commerce and the WWB Colombia Foundation, which contemplates different impact variables to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the situation of each company. After the delivery of the in-kind resources, a follow-up will be carried out at 30 days to verify the use of the assets, machinery or supplies and evaluate the progress of the recovery. The seed capital resources will be destined exclusively to recover productive activity and cannot be used to pay previous financial obligations, rent, public services, overdue payrolls, taxes or personal expenses. Validation mechanisms will also be applied to prevent the same impact from receiving duplicated financing from different public or private programs. With this alliance, the Cali Mayor's Office, the Cali Chamber of Commerce and the WWB Colombia Foundation seek to pool resources, knowledge and accompaniment so that affected businesses can recover their activity, preserve jobs and contribute to the economic reactivation of the city. CAROLINA BOHÓRQUEZEL TIEMPO CorrespondentCali Follow all the information from Colombia on Facebook and Twitter, or in our weekly newsletter. EL TIEMPO NEWSLETTERSSign up for our newsletters and receive news in your email according to your interests. Stay informed about what really matters to you. EL TIEMPO GOOGLE NEWSFollow us on GOOGLE NEWS. Always stay up to date with the latest news, coverage, stories and analysis directly on Google News. EL TIEMPO WHATSAPPJoin the El Tiempo channel on WhatsApp to stay up to date with the most relevant news as it happens. 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