When you decide to invest, you really have two paths: you lend your money to someone who pays you interest, or you buy a piece of a business or a property and earn from what it produces and how it appreciates. Understanding that difference changes how you read every opportunity you will ever be offered.
The concept: debt, equity, and devaluation
Debt is a loan: you put in capital, you receive interest, and at the end your principal comes back. Your return is defined up front and your role is that of a lender.
Equity is ownership: you buy a fraction of the asset and share in what it produces and in how it appreciates. Your role is that of an owner.
In plain words: equity just means owning a piece of something. Example: if a retail space is worth COP $100 million and you put in $10 million, you own 10% of it: you get 10% of the rent and 10% of whatever it sells for.
In Latin America a third factor joins the decision: devaluation. Money held in local currency loses purchasing power against hard currencies such as the dollar. A 12% annual return in pesos is not the same return once the peso weakens along the way.
In plain words: a hard currency is one that does not lose value easily, such as the dollar or the euro; devaluation is yours losing value against it. Example: if the dollar goes from COP $4,000 to $4,400 in a year, the same pesos in your account buy 10% fewer dollars than before, even though your balance never changed.
The a2censo model: lending to companies
In Colombia, a2censo is a debt crowdfunding platform backed by the Colombian Stock Exchange. It connects everyday people with small and medium-sized businesses that need financing, with a minimum ticket the platform recently adjusted to COP $500,000.
In plain words: crowdfunding is pooling money from many people to finance a single project. Example: 2,000 people put in COP $500,000 each and together they lend COP $1 billion to a company that could not have obtained that loan on its own.
When you invest there, you are lending to a company. In return, the company pays back your principal plus periodic interest. It is a clear, regulated model with a valuable purpose: financing the country's business fabric.
Where its limit is: you are investing in Colombian pesos. If the peso weakens against the dollar, your real return shrinks. You also take on the risk that the company's business does not work out, although the platform mitigates part of that risk with backing from the Fondo Nacional de Garantías.
In plain words: the Fondo Nacional de Garantías is a Colombian state body that acts as guarantor on the loan. Example: if the company stops paying, the Fondo covers part of what you were owed — part, not all, and only after a claims process.
What Circular Urban adds: ownership in dollars
Instead of lending, at Circular Urban you buy equity: real participation in physical real estate assets, with an entry point of USD $50. In projects located in the United States, rental income arrives in dollars and the asset appreciates in hard currency.
That applies two golden rules of investing at once: geographic diversification and protecting your wealth from local devaluation. If you want to see how an opportunity is structured before deciding, start with how to invest in private real estate projects with more clarity.
Comparison table: a2censo vs. Circular Urban
| Feature | a2censo | Circular Urban |
|---|---|---|
| Investor's role | Lender (corporate debt) | Owner (equity / real estate) |
| Currency of returns | Colombian pesos (COP) | US dollars (USD) |
| Minimum amount | COP $500,000 | USD $50 (approx. COP $190,000) |
| Protection against devaluation | Low (exposed to local currency) | High (backed in hard currency) |
| Main risk mitigation | Fondo Nacional de Garantías | Physical asset held in dollars |
So which one suits you?
They are not mutually exclusive. Debt gives you predictable flows in pesos; dollarized equity gives you ownership and a hedge against devaluation. What matters is knowing which of the two roles you are taking on each time you invest, and that the mix matches your goals.
Before choosing, it is worth looking at your starting point: the financial diagnostic helps you understand how much you can commit, and for how long.
What to weigh on our side
Ownership guarantees nothing. Unlike a loan at an agreed rate, there is no promised yield here: dividends depend on the property being rented and well run, and the value of your shares can fall.
In plain words: dividends are the share of profits a company distributes to its owners. Example: if the property produces COP $100 million in profit for the year and you hold 1% of the shares, COP $1 million is yours — and if there was no profit that year, there is no dividend.
If what you need is predictable cash flow on a known date, debt does that job better than we do.Related links
- Circular Urban investment projects
- What Circular Urban is and how it helps you invest
- The luxury mirage and the Airbnb rush
- Investing in the US from Latin America without the headaches
- The history of fractional real estate around the world
This content is educational and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. The terms of each platform can change; check their current information before deciding and talk to your own advisor.
Published by
María Camila Becerra Cabrales