The Colombian entrepreneur David Vélez, founder and global CEO of Nubank, considered the largest digital bank in the West, announced a donation of 100 billion pesos to support those affected by the earthquake that hit the country on August 10th. Our colleagues at Negocios Ditu held a dialogue with the entrepreneur, and here is the full response.
Welcome to this informative business block of Negocios Ditu with the most important economic and business news of the day. We begin by talking about Colombian entrepreneur David Vélez, who is founder and global CEO of Nubank, the largest digital bank in the West, who announces a donation of 100 billion pesos to support those affected by the earthquake that hit the country on August 10th. This was made known by President Abelardo de la Priella on his X account. For this, we contacted at this hour precisely David Vélez, who is the founder and global CEO of Nubank, to talk a bit about this contribution. Welcome to Negocios Ditu, David. It's a pleasure to talk with you.
Thank you. Thank you very much for the invitation. Happy to be here with all of you.
Well, David, let's talk about this very significant, very robust contribution that you are making today to the victims of this earthquake in Colombia. We're talking about 100 billion pesos. First, what will these funds be directed toward? Will they be aid for this first stage of the emergency, for shelters, for kits? Or is there also thinking about the stages to come, like reconstruction?
Well, first, the main reason for doing it, logically, is that we were moved by the scenes and the tragedy that this earthquake brought to Colombia, and it has been very moving to see so many people interested in helping. We felt that we had to help as well with everything we could at this moment. So many people affected in some of the poorest places in Colombia. So we have focused a lot on understanding how to get that aid to the final recipient. We are working on two timelines. On one hand, we feel a great sense of urgency to help the areas where people are most in need, getting them food and what they need for daily life. But immediately, we are also thinking about the medium and long term. We have publicly stated that we want to focus a lot on the Chocó region, where we see a great need to invest in education. The main focus of our Vélez Más family foundation has been education in Colombia, in Latin America, and I believe this is an opportunity to look at many of the schools in the region and try to reconstruct them, and even try to bring them to an additional level, bringing much of the knowledge we have in technology and the opportunities we have worked on at Nubank. So we will be working on those two timelines: on one hand, helping immediately with what is needed, and on the other hand, working on how we can add more in the medium and long term.
David, please tell us about the coordination with the national government. We know you had this call with President Abelardo de la Priella, who communicated the donation to the country through his X account. How will that coordination work, or through what vehicle, to guarantee the execution of those 100 billion pesos?
Of course, we have been very inspired by the speed of the president in seeking help from all sides — large, medium, and small aid. I think that is the definition of leadership in moments of crisis: bringing everyone to the table, sitting them down, and helping them collaborate. And we are seeing a great deal of collaboration in Colombia from all sides, in seeing how together we can help. We are still defining the details of how to work with private entities, NGOs, and also with the government in delivering all this aid to the final recipient. So this entire collaboration process is still being discussed, but we definitely need everyone's help. We need the help of the Colombian government, the help of the states, the help of NGOs, the help of the private sector — everyone working together to figure out how we can fix and help solve this very difficult moment for Colombia.
David, you mentioned that the Chocó department will be a priority. What criteria will guide the focus on this area, considering that there are five regions that have been severely impacted?
Yes, that was really the main reason. The Chocó region is one of the most underserved regions in Colombia, especially in terms of education, with some of the lowest literacy rates and other metrics that we measure. And at the same time, it was one of the most affected. It's an overwhelming tragedy. We are currently in contact with many local organizations, trying to understand how to direct that aid directly to the people who need it most, and ensuring that we can create an impact with this money. So everything is in motion right now, speaking directly with the region, but we believe that is where it is most needed, and we want the aid to go directly to the people who need it most.
Have you perhaps also had the opportunity to talk with local authorities there in the Chocó department, or has your exchange been basically with the head of the national government, the president?
So far, it has been mainly with the president, but our Vélez Más foundation was already in extensive communication with several local organizations, so we are maintaining that dialogue at this moment, making sure we can do it the right way.
David, there's also a very important issue here. You are a bank that has grown, a new bank that has grown considerably in Colombia, more than 5 million users. ABank has announced some financial relief for its customers, for those who have loans, some grace periods. In NU's particular case, how will you operate in that sense here in Colombia?
