The government through the SME Development and Finance Corporation SDFC has issued loans worth MVR 283 million to those financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that has brought the country’s economy to a halt.
Finance Ministry statistics show that the government had issued these loans to 1195 businesses and 525 individuals.
It showed that the government had disbursed MVR 267.5 million as loans to businesses that had fallen on hard times due to the current crisis.
The statistics also show that the government had issued loans worth MVR 15.7 million to self-employed/ freelance individuals.
These loans were issued under the SDFC COVID-19 Viyafaari Ehee loan product which provides financial aid for SMEs and self-employed/freelance individuals that are facing cashflow constraints due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The product is introduced as a short-term financing facility for SMEs to meet their current operational requirements and to provide financial assistance for self-employed individuals and freelance workers as part of the Economic Recovery Package announced by the Ministry of Finance.
The product offers Loan amount up to MVR500,000 for businesses (10% of annual sales turnover for the past year) and loan amount up to MVR30,000 for self-employed individuals.
