The national bank, Bank of Maldives (BML), has announced the winners of its Startup Grant.
The BML Startup Grant was announced in January 2022 for emerging entrepreneurs to win grant funding of MVR 500,000 to start or grow a business in the Maldives. Four winners are:
- Mohamed Nazlee and Aishath Shamma Mohamed (NirisS Embroidery) for expanding existing embroidery business.
- Aminath Irasha (Kids Zone) to start a new business teaching woodcraft with a conducive learning environment for children with special needs.
- Hawwa Suzan (Hawwan Cakes) for expanding existing small-scale, home-based cake business into a bakery and introducing training facilities.
- Aishath Liusha (Climate Smart Good Agricultural Practices) for expanding existing business to promote sustainable farming.
BML's CEO and Managing Director Timothy Sawyer said the winners of the Startup Grant fund are emerging entrepreneurs who have demonstrated eagerness and promise to grow and manage their businesses sustainably through their plans and presentation. He said they were selected out of over 100 applicants across the country. He further said the Bank was proud to support these businesses and looked forward to witnessing them create new jobs while also making a positive impact towards the community.
The winners were selected through a highly competitive evaluation process comprising of two stages. During the first stage, business plans were evaluated to shortlist the ten most promising applicants. The selected applicants were required to present the business idea to an evaluation committee.
The Bank launched its Startup Grant Fund in January as the third of 12 high-impact monthly community initiatives to celebrate the lead-up to the Bank’s 40th anniversary.
