Spain's BBVA is setting up a business unit, called Spark, in Colombia focussed on serving entrepreneurs and tech companies.
BBVA Spark first launched in Spain and Mexico last July with the aim of boosting innovation and supporting enterprises working with groundbreaking tech, scalable business models and a clear strategy to grow and explore new markets.
Now, the unit is arriving in Colombia, where there are more than 1000 startups and the volume of investment in technology and innovation has tripled in the past two years.
Spark provides a product and service range tailored to the life cycle of tech companies, from the startup stage right through to their emergence as major corporations.
Depending on its stage of development, a firm can access BBVA's full range of products for businesses - online banking, payroll, payments, cards, insurance - and the specific form of finance it needs.
Specifically, BBVA Spark will offer new models of finance, such as venture debt, so that entrepreneurs can access bank finance and avoid seeing their equity stake diluted in private funding rounds.
Roberto Albaladejo, global head, BBVA Spark, says: "We aim to be the go-to bank for Colombia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by offering a specialized team, a full range of financial services and new models of finance that prioritise long-term growth potential."