Sourcing2EqualColombia
OVERVIEWCORPORATE BRIEF
Working together to reduce gender
gaps in private procurement
BUSINESS CASE FOR

Sourcing2Equal Colombia is a two-year project implemented by IFC with theGENDER-INCLUSIVE SOURCING

support of the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) and Norway
with the objective to advance gender-inclusive sourcing in Colombia. Genderinclusive sourcing is a proactive business strategy to diversity an organization’s

Reducing gender gaps between men and women in private sector procurement

supplier base by increasing the number of women-owned/led small andhas the potential to:

medium size enterprises (WSMEs). Corporations with procurement operations
in Colombia are invited to participate with a commitment to advance genderinclusive sourcing in their supply chain.

KEY FACTS

66.9%

17.3%

of registered firmsof registered firms inin Colombia have

Colombia are majority-female participation in

owned by women2

Generate greater returns on

Increase access to athe cost of procurement5,

wider variety of high-quality

increase supplier availability,

suppliers that contributeand reduce risk6

to more competitive prices
over time7

ownership130%

Globally, only

1%of WSMEs in Colombia

of procurement spend

are fully or partiallyby large corporates goes

credit constrained3to WSMEs4

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH:

Improve company’s ability

Enhance company’s

to innovate and better

reputation and brandrespond to customers’ needs8

recognition among
stakeholders9HOW COMPANIESWHAT DOES PARTICIPATION ENTAIL?

CAN PARTICIPATE
Corporate Commitments
Sourcing2Equal Colombia offers three activities for corporate participation:

Corporates participating in the peer learning platform are expected to makeat least two commitments to advance gender-inclusive sourcing, including:Corporate Peer-Learning Platform

1. One operational commitment to institute internal change, ranging
from collecting sex-disaggregated data from suppliers, setting and reportingon targets, building a pipeline of eligible WSME suppliers, engage in supplier

Peer learning will include at least 10 events for participants
to interact, network, share their expertise, and expand theirknowledge of best practices in gender-inclusive sourcing
from local and global experts. Topics selected will be based oncompanies’ commitments, needs and interests, and may include:• Policy, strategy, and action planning• Mapping your supplier base to identify WSME suppliers, set abaseline and targets• Developing an internal business case for sourcing from WSMEsuppliers• Identifying and building a pipeline of WSME suppliers• Internal and external communications to raise awareness andfinding allies and partners

development program activities, etc.
2. One advocacy commitment, ranging from sharing best practices
through case studies, joining local or global initiatives to increase sourcing
from women, CEO championship (speaking of opportunities at events,
media messaging, etc.)• IFC will provide guidance to corporates in formulating their commitments.
Individual corporate commitments are not public. Any information provided
to IFC will be kept strictly confidential. Only aggregated data from the groupmay be shared (e.g. total number of commitments made, areas in which
commitments have been made, number of commitments fulfilled by project
end, etc.).
• Progress toward commitments will be monitored by IFC and the outcomes
captured in case studies and project progress reports to demonstrate theIFC Advisory Services (optional)
IFC will provide one-on-one expert advisory services to support
corporates in achieving their commitments and advance genderinclusive sourcing in their companies. Potential areas of support
include supplier-base analytics, sourcing strategy development,
access to partnerships, impact measurement, and communication
strategies.

impact achieved.

Active Participation• Active participation in project activities, including willingness to shareexperiences, data, and good practices with others.
• Contribute expertise to the design and implementation of activities toidentify WSMEs in Colombia and build their capacity to meet corporateprocurement requirements.

Connections with WSME Suppliers

Resources:• In kind: time, knowledge sharing, participation of decision makers.

Based on the procurement needs of corporates participating in
the peer-learning platform, the project will facilitate activities to
identify WSMEs and connect them to participating corporates via
supplier-buyer matchmaking sessions. The project will develop
and deliver procurement readiness training to WSMEs in Colombia,
including on participating corporate procurement requirements inpartnership with the corporates in the peer learning platform, andglobal and local partners.

• Financial: no membership fee to join Sourcing2Equal partnership.
Cost sharing will be applicable only to firm-level advisory, which isoptional and based on participating company interests.

Tentative timeline:• Finalize corporate onboarding to the project with signed commitment
letters: by December 2022
• Public launch of peer-learning platform: February 2023
• One-year progress report on commitments: February 2024
• Final assessment of progress on commitments: February 2025

1 WB Enterprise Survey, 2017
2 WB Enterprise Survey, 2017CONTACT US

3 SME Finance Forum, 2017
4 WEConnect International,2017
5 Ernst & Young, 2021
6 UN Women, 2017

To join the IFC’s Sourcing2Equal Colombia program or to learn more, pleasecontact:

7 IFC, 2015
8 IBM, 2018
9 UN Women, 2017

September 2022

Anna Domingo
Sourcing2Equal Program Lead, IFC’s Gender and Economic Inclusion Groupadomingoriu@ifc.org
Carolina Salazar
Sourcing2Equal Colombia Project Coordinator, IFC’s Gender and Economic
Inclusion Groupmsalazarpardo@ifc.org